DBZ: Perfect Future
by Perfect Carnage
Summary: Cell emerges into the dead world of the future, his only goal is to find the androids and become Perfect. He is assured that his Perfect form is unstoppable, though the wizard Babidi alleges otherwise. To combat boredom, Cell allies himself with Babidi to revive Majin Buu and receive the one thing he truly desires: A challenge.
1. Nightmare

**Chapter 1: Nightmare**

 _Age 778_

 _The world had been terrorized by the androids for almost 20 years now, the mechanical monsters having long since whittled down humanity into bare scraps of the once booming population. All hope had long since vanished with the mysterious golden fighters. The people who prayed for some heavenly savior would find no sympathetic ear to answer their cry for help. But the androids would be defeated, just not by any hero. The one responsible was spawned by the same dark mind that forged the androids. Its name is Cell._

* * *

Since his emergence into the world just a few weeks prior, he had found nothing worth any of his consideration. Humanity was nothing more than a few bands of scattered survivors, their numbers dropping by the day (an act he was responsible for). The cyborgs had done their part in fulfilling Dr Gero's grand design admirably. All enemies of the good doctor were dead and the people who had proven themselves worthless to be placed under his boot were being eliminated. The only regret to be had about the course of events was that Goku had perished of natural causes, and not at the hands of any of Gero's creations. Fate had doomed the planet with the absence of its long time savior, and robbed Gero's spirit of the satisfaction of removing Goku from the world of the living. Still, there was a small degree of pride to be taken in the fact that the Hero had been unable to fight against the thing that killed him. For a warrior to die in bed and not on the battlefield, why, it was the ultimate insult.

Musings on the past were all that Cell had been able to do during his incubation, and the present was lacking in things to draw his mind away from that. His instinctive combat and absorption reflexes were more than adequate when it came to dismantling whatever resistance he encountered. Bullets were totally harmless and explosives offered only slightly more effort to resist, if he didn't just dodge them. Within his genetic matrix lay the knowledge for fighting on a truly epic scale and how to handle blasts which could annihilate far more than any man made bomb could hope to. All that was really left were the ruins of cities and the battle scarred wastelands that resulted from attempts to stop the androids. Nothing Cell would have felt sorry for destroying, had he possessed the emotion.

The only reason Cell did not just evaporate the areas he found humans in was because he needed their energy. By itself, a man's power level only came to 5 on average. A few exceptional individuals even made it past 15. His maximum power level at birth surpassed Frieza's. Yet, when consumed on the large scale, the essence of humanity allowed him to tap into more of his own latent power. That was worth more than the small additive boosts such a thing provided to his strength. With the twins' actions, there weren't enough humans alive for his power level to more than double in a small time span.

Patience was a virtue Cell exercised when it came to his hunt for the cyborgs, not to his hunting of humans. He had come across a community of a few thousand and in less than an hour had reduced that number to zero. Swatting flies like that gave him no satisfaction. Anyone could have done that, and Vegeta and Frieza had exterminated far more in their days with much less time. When it came to that competition, Frieza still held the record for his swift destruction of Planet Vegeta and every Saiyan on it. Of course, Cell's pride persisted in reminding him that he accomplished his depopulation without the aid of ki, and that made his feat more impressive.

Gero's data had been quite clear on the fact that the cyborgs were unable to sense energy, so Cell had no need to worry about them detecting his approach. Gohan and Trunks were the ones he hid his power from. As tasty as their energies would be, he had to adhere to caution when it came to his hunt. He was unsure as to how strong they were individually or together, though they remained no match for the cyborgs. By judgments based on his own strength and the power Frieza had faced from Goku, Cell would lose if either of them possessed that kind of power. He was confident that if need be he could kill them with his superior cunning and natural abilities, but he'd rather avoid that confrontation. After he had achieved perfection, then he would welcome challengers with open arms.

His reptilian eyes dilated at the thought of his perfect form. Gero had offered no visual clues as to what he could expect from his ultimate form, but it was bound to be glorious to behold. It was truly unfortunate that the super computer had been unable to provide him with the information he desired, but perhaps the mystery preserved would make the final unveiling all the more sweet.

Though it would be pure lies if he said that delayed gratification was something he appreciated on the quest to his perfect form. The sooner he found 17 and 18, the sooner he could be perfect. The impatience that worked its way through him every day he still had no clue on where to find them was annoying to deal with, along with all the fears it bred. Ridiculous, baseless fears that they might have been destroyed, or left the planet out of sheer boredom were prime among them. It was little comfort that he had not detected Super Saiyan energy at any point since emerging from his cocoon. He had suspected that Gohan had perished based on what data the computer had been able to glean about the outside world, but Trunks dying as well would throw a spanner in the works when it came to finding the cyborgs. He could not detect their energy, and with no beacon to guide him to them he could be stuck wandering for months in the wrong direction.

Cell bit back the urge to vent his frustrations and simply flicked the empty clothing from the end of his tail. He would not give in to frustration and lose hope so was his destiny to achieve his perfect form, and fate would make it happen. Even if he had to bring the twins back from death to do so, he would. Such was his resolve.

A sudden surge of energy met his senses, and Cell turned to the direction of the disturbance. A wave of yellow light tore through a row of high rise buildings, followed by glass shattering booms ascending rapidly through the air. And as if to confirm what he already knew, a pillar of golden light rose into the sky. The thing which Frieza had feared, Cell welcomed. As the saying went, where there was smoke there was a fire. And in this world there was only one thing for a Super Saiyan to fight against, and that was a cyborg.

Cell's orange beak split into a smirk as he immediately took off in the direction of the fight, bringing all of his stolen ki to the surface at once. Wasting even a minute on stealth was unthinkable, not when the goal of his life was literally in front of him. He would wait for the fight to conclude and then ambush one of the cyborgs. From there, it was a smooth path to perfection.

"Looks like the search is over. I've found you, and soon perfection will be mine." A sonic boom echoed through the air as Cell put on another burst of speed, eager to arrive before his prey could escape his grasp again.


	2. Majin

**Chapter 2: Majin**

The force behind the blows thrown by the androids were truly impressive, Cell had to admit. As he got closer to the fight itself, he started actually feeling the shock waves as they exploded through the air. It was both a herald of great things to come, and a cause for caution. While he had considered himself capable of dealing with the androids individually, the two of them together were definitely capable of giving him pause. Sad as it was, he'd have to exercise discretion before absorbing them.

Appropriate as it would have been, Cell refrained from verbally expressing his annoyance and instead slowed his approach to a relative crawl. It wouldn't be wise to appear in a conflagration of golden light, or have a sonic boom alert them to his approach. Still, at least he wouldn't have to worry about raising or lowering his power level too much. The androids inability to detect ki would leave them blind as he drew in for the kill, as it were.

And Trunks was far too weak to bother worrying about. Even if the boy could feel his energy, what was he going to do about it? Tell his mortal enemies that another strong fighter was coming? No. All Trunks would think was that there was a chance be might be rescued from his beating.

 _And if he does think that I'm a danger to him, I doubt 17 and 18 would just let him go. Ha! In his condition, he'll be lucky to get away with his life!_

With a smirk Cell stealthily dropped down to the rooftops of one of the few standing skyscrapers left in the city. He couldn't make out anything yet with his eyes, but he could definitely feel his targets getting closer. The ground rattled beneath him and every now and then he was deafened by a particularly loud crash. Oddly, there didn't look to be any blasts thrown about. Usually Saiyans threw those out like party favours; especially now that there was no way for their opponents to sense energy.

 _Maybe his energy is too drained for that?_ Cell thought, crouching low as he saw the blurry figures become clearer as they moved towards him. _No golden aura, that must be it. But so soon? Guess the boy just is that weak._

Now would be the perfect time to strike, while the androids were preoccupied with their plaything. He could use the solar flare to blind them and then absorb whichever one was closest. The second one wouldn't be any trouble after that.

But, Cell opted to wait. Beyond simple curiosity in seeing how the battle would end, some degree of inherited sadism from Frieza or Vegeta was taking great pleasure in watching someone get the life beaten out of them. Catharsis by proxy? No, he didn't hold any particular feelings against Trunks. Schadenfreude then.

Cell waited, slit pupils dilating as the fighters approached. His heart beat faster, almost in tune with the crashes and booms splitting the air. All he had waited for was almost upon him; in no time at all he'd be Perfect. A singularly powerful blow blasted through the air and sent a broken body sailing diagonally upward through a fallen building. The body soared through the air at tremendous speeds for a few seconds before android 18 appeared over it and struck it with a double fisted blow that sent it rocketing back down to the ground.

It had only been a few seconds that Cell could clearly see the victim of the androids, but he was startled by what he saw.

 _That's not Trunks!_

Cell's jaw dropped as the white armoured creature was treated to a brutal uppercut from 17 that sent its abnormally long head cracking up moments before it was sent flying back into the sky, where 18 was waiting for it.

Rather than bat it back down to her brother 18 caught the creature by the front of its armour. She didn't say anything as the thing panted and wheezed, which Cell found shocking on its own before the thing suddenly perked up. The bruised and distorted flesh of its head realigned into a more natural looking state, the absurd swelling of its eyes shrinking to non-existence. As its body was healed, its energy rose as well but not in a way Cell was familiar with. It was unsettling the lack of knowledge he had of what was going on.

He resolved to stay hidden while trying to come to a decision about what to do first. Find out more about the alien and its intentions or just go straight for absorbing the androids and finding out later? It would be child's play making the thing talk one he was Perfect if 17 and 18 could beat it this badly.

"And you're back to 100%." 18 said, smirking as she casually pulled her fist back for another punch. "Good to know that we didn't break you this time."

 **SMACK**

18's fist hit the alien's head hard enough that even Cell felt inclined to wince in sympathy. It was honestly a surprise that it wasn't dead, even with an apparent regenerative ability superior to his own. It was hard to get a read on its ki, but it didn't feel too strong. It certainly wasn't as strong as a Super Saiyan, but it wasn't as weak as the members of Frieza's army had been. With that kind of strength, given how hard the androids were hitting it, it should have been dead already.

 _Unusual, but not too important. I doubt that it has any tricks left up its sleeve, or it would have used them by now. I'll find out what it is and where it came from when I'm done with the Androids. it'll make a nice detour, after I've achieved my destiny._

Cell stood up, extending his wings as he prepared to launch the attack that would secure his victory.

"You'll regret this, I'm telling you! When Master Babidi finds out, he'll-" The angry outburst ended as soon as it started, drawing confused looks from 17 and 18 and giving brief pause to Cell's preparations.

"Hey sis, is he zoning out or something? Think we hit him a bit too hard this time?" 17 called up, false concern for the condition of his newest toy discernible in his tone.

"What do you mean we? I punched him last!" 18 shouted down, before turning back to the absent minded alien in her grasp. "So long as he can still take a punch, it doesn't really matter." She stated, readying herself to deliver another strike.

"Yes, Master." The alien all but sighed before focusing its gaze onto 18 with a seriousness far removed from its frustrated yelping before. A smug grin spread over its thick lips before it spoke, "Today's your lucky day Earthlings, my master has decided you're useful to him."

"I don't care, my brother and I don't work for anyone." 18 responded, letting go and moving back from the alien. Before it could get another word out, there was a distortion in the air as 17 appeared next to his sister.

"You said it 18. But hey, Pui Pui? You can tell your master thanks for the offer when you guys meet up in hell. Or, we could thank him personally and you get to live another day. Your call, compadre."

17 brought his left hand up, a red blast filling the palm as 18 did the same with her right.

Pui Pui's grin widened.

Cell's aura burst from him as he bent his knees to leap into action.

He was just about to spring when 17 and 18 both clutched their heads and screamed. Immediately panic struck him, leaving him frozen as the two beings he **needed** cried out in genuine pain for what must have been the first time. Cell didn't know what was affecting them, or how to stop it. Did Pui Pui have psychic powers? He'd have to be absurdly strong to damage the androids with them, and that didn't match the pitiful performance he'd put up just now.

 _It doesn't matter how he's doing it, I have to stop it! If their internal components are damaged too badly even absorbing them may be useless!_

The screaming came to an abrupt halt, and to Cell's further perplexion the twins were smirking in a way that no people who had just been subject to extreme pain should have been. Added to that, 17 and 18 both sported strange calligraphic 'M' tattoos on their foreheads that burned red before settling into a midnight black.

None of it made sense, and it left the bio-android wondering just what the hell had happened. He wanted to attack now and try to absorb them, but if he didn't like his chances before he certainly wasn't going to gamble with whatever strange change had overcome the androids.

"Majin 17, Majin 18, welcome aboard. You'll want to follow me to the ship, it's pretty well hidden." Pui Pui said, already starting to drift in the general direction they'd be going as if he hadn't been at the twin's mercy just minutes ago.

"Yeah sure, whatever you say. Listen, as long as Babidi can hold up his end of the deal I'm sure we'll be great friends. Right Pui Pui?" Majin 17 said with a smile, punching Pui Pui 'playfully' in the arm hard enough to make him wince and clutch his shoulder.

"R-Right." Pui Pui forced a chuckle as he rubbed at his arm, looking wearily from 17's deceptively innocent smile to 18's mirrored features. "This way, and you should call him Master Babidi if you don't want any trouble."

"Oh, there won't be any trouble." Majin 18 said as the trio started picking up speed away from the area. "I'm sure Babidi will understand that his strongest team members should get a few privileges here and there."

Cell couldn't hear any more as they shot off into the distance at a speed he couldn't hope to match, with Pui Pui being forcibly dragged along with them. He was left frozen on the spot, staring blankly at the space the androids had occupied.

"What just happened?" He uttered, rasping voice going unheard over the dead city. The energy he had been gathering for the high speed Solar Flare and barrier just fell away from him, wasted.

"Damn it!" Cell yelled, squeezing his hands into fists and doubling over in anger. "I was so close! Perfection was just a few steps away! I shouldn't have waited! I should have attacked!"

Gold light flooded from Cell as his rage boiled over, sending the skyscraper he'd stood on crashing into the streets in flaming pieces and making the ground quake for kilometres away. Cell was oblivious to the damage he caused as his aura grew larger and larger, devouring a good chunk of the city in its blazing incandescence as he poured his emotions out into it.

"That, Pui Pui, and, Babidi…They're the ones responsible! I'll find them and I'll make them pay for ever interfering!"

"If you wish to defeat Babidi, perhaps we could be of assistance."

The sound of a foreign voice ended Cell's tantrum all at once. His aura lessened into a mere fire cloaking his form as he searched the area suspiciously for who had spoken. His efforts were put to rest by the speaker's sudden appearance in front of him without any warning. Cell resisted the impulse to jerk back, determined to appear as strong as possible while he studied the _newest_ mysterious figure. This one didn't look as plain as Pui Pui. He had lilac coloured skin and wore his silver hair in a mohawk, while wearing clothing that was rather elaborate. A blue button up jacket over a blue shirt with puffed up shoulders, and an orange sash tied around the middle. His pants were the same shade as his shirt, and fed into dark orange boots. What marked him as not being from Earth in Cell's mind were his pointed ears, which had round earrings hanging from them.

 _I can't sense his energy at all. What is he, another android?_

"Is that so? Well, I'm sure you wouldn't mind telling me who you are first." Cell said, keeping his voice harsh as he crossed his arms. After what he'd seen, he was getting fed up with mysteries. This person had a _slight_ increase in opinion for being of use in regaining his shot at Perfection, but that didn't make his presence any less irritating for Cell.

"There's no need for hostility, we have the same goal. I too, wish to see Babidi and his evil vanquished." He smiled mysteriously, placing his arms behind his back. "I am the Supreme Kai."

Cell's eyes widened in surprise before settling back into a guarded expression.

"Supreme Kai? What's that supposed to mean?" He said, not bothering to hide his irritation, gold flecks spitting from his aura.

"I'll explain while we wait for my assistant, Kibito, to return. He's following Pui Pui and the newest recruits back to their ship. After he returns, we can work out a plan for assaulting Babidi's ship."

Cell's cautiousness grew at the mention of another unknown being on the planet, though he allowed himself to relax externally. He didn't have a problem with the Supreme Kai's plan, and he needed to hear everything he had to say. Having more light shed on the situation would help Cell know what he was getting into.

 _It's no use going after the Androids if I'm in the dark about who they work for now, I suppose. But I can tell that this 'Supreme Kai' is the type who'd work better with Goku than someone like me… I'd better play it safe until I have 17 and 18 firmly in my grasp._

Cell's beak opened in a rare friendly smile as he did his best to bring the 'Goku' aspect of his energy to the fore. Just because he couldn't sense the energy of his supposed ally didn't mean that the reverse wasn't possible.

"I'm all ears."

* * *

 _AN:What a twist!_

 _3 drafts I had for this chapter. The first from the androids POV, the second from Pui Pui's and now this one. Updates will be weekly from now on. Please review, constructive criticism is always welcome and so are questions._

 _And fyi, I really wish I'd chosen to just use omnipresent 3rd person so I wouldn't have to steer clear of Pui Pui's name -.-_


	3. Divine Intervention

**Chapter 3: Divine Intervention**

 **-Shin-**

His 'ally' had been quiet and self absorbed since he'd heard what Babidi and his men were planning. Shin didn't like it one bit on a creature like this one. It reminded him too much of one of the fighters Babidi possessed, a light eating monster named Yakon. Cell had the same predatory disposition as the Ankouan, and what was more disturbing was how well it hid it. Or tried to, at least. Shin had been monitoring the being's aura for any signs of hostility or evil, yet all he felt was the kind of good nature and… Trustworthiness that was entirely unbecoming of something with the attitude Cell displayed.

 _It's definitely hiding something, but what? It was clearly clueless about Babidi, so what secrets could it have that matter so much?_ Shin questioned, while holding the same practised serene smile in place as a counterpoint to Cell's suspicious contemplation. _They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but how can I be sure he isn't just another enemy in waiting?_

For all of his suspicions, even considering the raw hostility he'd felt from Cell when he first approached, he did need the insect's help. It was native to this world, it had considerable power, and most importantly, it knew what the two super humans really were.

They destroyed wantonly and output more power than any human could have, all without even showing any kind of energy. It was baffling, and he hadn't even been sure if Babidi could corrupt things like them until he had.

It was a mistake to wait, but he had a chance to correct it with Cell's help. From the questions he had asked, Shin could guess that he was interested in the newest pair of Babidi's soldiers -17 and 18- and knew what they could do.

Even as forthcoming as he had been, Cell was still reluctant to share any information with him. Even his name was only gained after a period of scrutiny that Shin was sure any mortal would have found unsettling. In fact, it had made his skin crawl, although he had not shown it. Being a god did have appearances to keep up.

The silent stand off between the two was broken by Kibito's sudden appearance. He teleported next to Shin, out of breath.

"My lord, I managed to follow Pui Pui and the others back to Babidi's ship." He paused to take a breath, and noticed Cell. For a moment it looked like he would choke on his breath before he kept on talking, slower and while keeping an eye on Cell. "It is located in the middle of one of the deserts, near a destroyed town. I am afraid I was unable to get away undetected, Dabura saw me."

Kibito grit his teeth and lowered his head forward in shame and anger, and Cell perched up at the mention of the strongest of Babidi's men.

"I barely managed to get away, and only then because the two humans insisted on trying to find a more elaborate method of killing me for their amusement." He clenched his fists, humiliating memories resurfacing with anger.

"You did well Kibito." Shin said, knowing that if he let his assistant go on blaming himself for somehow failing him then it would just make things worse for the both of them. Sometimes Kibito's devotion bordered on the troublesome. "You succeeded in your mission and have given Cell and us what we need in order to end Babidi's wickedness once and for all. I'd call that a good job, wouldn't you, Cell?"

He hadn't needed to phrase it that way or ask Cell at all, but for now he was more curious in seeing how Cell would respond. It was trying its best to hide just how bad its true nature was, the only way for him to gauge it would be through the creature's words and actions until it dropped its pretence.

Cell's face flickered with hostility before its mask of apathy returned.

"I'll save my praise until I see this ship for myself. Now that you've given **us** away, they could move the ship at _any_ time." Cell said in a neutral tone, though that didn't conceal the insulting purpose of his words. Not that Shin believed he had wanted them hidden. "Before they get the chance, we should attack. You may have killed the element of surprise, but they won't be expecting me."

Cell paused to smirk and spread his arms in a challenging gesture. A pale gold aura shined around him and to Shin's confusion only muddied his energy signature even further.

"Teleport us to this ship, **now.** "

"No." Shin commanded before Kibito had the chance to object. He faced Cell, looking into the insect's eyes with a stronger gaze. "Babidi's ship is home to the strongest warriors in the universe, warriors that now include two extremely powerful humans whose capabilities you have still **failed** to share. You may believe yourself capable of defeating whatever awaits on Babidi's ship, but I can assure you that you are not powerful enough."

Cell harrumphed and drew his arms tight over his plated chest. "You haven't yet seen what I can do."

"You aren't powerful enough _yet_."

Shin smiled, glancing briefly at Kibito to reassure him before turning back to Cell, who looked confused and conflicted for some reason.

"I can try you to become much stronger than you are now. It will only take a few days, but in that time you will become powerful enough that you will be able to face all of Babidi's henchmen on even ground -with the exception of Dabura of course."

Cell opened its mouth to interject, but Shin continued before it could interrupt.

"A few days might seem like a great deal of time for Babidi to go unsupervised, but in that time I doubt he could get enough energy to revive Majin Buu." Shin smiled widely, watching Cell as the bug creature lost its protesting look and listened. "So, do you agree to accompany us?"

Cell's eyes fell onto Kibito first, lingering there just long enough to be uncomfortable before its laser like gaze moved to Shin. He remained unaffected by the scrutiny and Cell quickly gave up whatever search it was on as it grumbled and sighed.

"Yes, fine. This training had better be worth it."

"Trust me, it will be. Kibito, take us to Kaioshinkai please."

"Master! The Sacred World of the Kais is only meant for the gods alone, not vile monsters such as this!"

"Oh I'm not that bad once you get to know me." Cell chuckled, clearly amused by Kibito's outburst.

"In ordinary circumstances, yes, but these are hardly ordinary circumstances. We need all the help we can get stopping Babidi, and Cell could be of great help if given the chance." Shin said, and hoped that Kibito would drop the topic before it got any further. The two of them needed to discuss Cell in private, not while it was still in earshot.

Kibito gave a kind of strangled mumble in reply before shooting a hateful glare at Cell, which was reciprocated with a smirk as Kibito's red hand reluctantly touched Cell's mottled green arm. Shin almost audibly let out a sigh as the three of them left the Earth.

* * *

 _Author's note: Going to be honest with you, this was supposed to be twice as long and be from Cell's pov until I realised that it didn't really work as well as from Shin's, and due to external work related factors. Super pleased I got this chapter done though! Take that, my procrastinating past self!_

 _The next chapter will be from Cell's POV, though there might be a small intermission with Shin and Kibito depending on where the word count falls._

 _Also, Kaioshinkai is the name I picked up from 'In Ashes' by Alpha Shenron that just stuck with me. Not sure if its the official name in canon but it's mine._

 _As a piece of trivia, I do have a power level list for this fanfic as well but I'm not posting it because all Buu Saga characters occupy a strange grey zone where logic stops making sense and numbers start playing make belief._

 _Review response time:_

 _Super Vegetarott: Thanks for reading! Trunks is actually closer than you'd think, and will play a pretty big role in chapters to come._

 _Steelix: Thanks! Yeah, that was the original plan but then I realised that without either ripping off Honor Trip or introducing plot holes just for Rule of Cool, there wouldn't be much of a story to tell._

 _MintAnana: You're by far my biggest supporter, lol. Have a flag! I do try my hardest to keep Cell in character, though that's disturbingly easy._

 _To all the silent readers out there…You're still awesome just for pushing up the view count._

 _In less happy news, chances are I won't be able to update next week. Just a heads up for those of you sitting up for the midnight releases…_


	4. Transformation

**Chapter 4: Transformation**

 **-Cell-**

Kaioshinkai was a beautiful world compared to the Earth he knew. Verdant green fields stretched as far as the eye could see and in the lilac skies countless moons were visible. It was a world that truly fit its role as home of the gods, and Cell could appreciate it as a place that Frieza would pay top zeni for.

In regards to achieving his Perfect form however, it was mud. What the idiot Kai and his servant didn't realise was that it didn't matter how much stronger Babidi had made the androids. It didn't even matter if Dabura was strong enough to 'kill him with barely a thought'. All he needed was _one second_ and then he'd be well on his way to being the strongest being in history. He'd be a god, a real god, not some pitiful elf.

 _Maybe when I'm Perfect I'll return here and destroy this planet, just to show that I can. There will be no more room for gods in the universe then._

"Welcome to my home. This is the Sacred World of the Kais."

The Supreme Kai's words held the same level of borderline condescension that he had put on since Cell had met him. It would have been _incredibly_ satisfying to respond with something snarky, like calling the place a dump but Cell had better motivations than being petty at that moment. The Kai believed that he could become strong enough to take down the androids with training here, and Cell was mildly curious to see what kind of training he had in mind.

"No living mortal has ever set foot here. In fact, I'm unsure as to why a creature like you was allowed the privilege of seeing this place. It's just not right."

Cell turned his cool gaze to Kibito, catlike eyes hardening at the latest of the protests from the Supreme Kai's servant. It was bad enough that he was a glorified taxi and nothing more, but that he thought he had a right to complain when he was so laughably **weak**.

 _I'm going to enjoy killing you most of all, I think, Kibito._

"If you want to take on 17 and 18 without my help, you're more than welcome to try. Why, I'm sure a godly being such as yourself could handle Babidi's entire army all by yourself."

Out of habit Cell's tail lifted and curled at shoulder level. His mockery of Kibito wasn't taken well by the red demi-god, whose facial hue darkened to vermilion. He looked like he was going to explode in rage, which Cell would have welcomed for the chance to give him the beating he deserved, before the infernally calm Supreme Kai spoke.

"Please Kibito, Cell is here for a very good reason. He understands how Babidi's new warriors work better than we do, and he certainly holds a great deal of power." The Supreme Kai looked into the distance with a sly smirk when he finished his sentence. Cell couldn't hide his disappointment at not having an excuse to drain the life from the taller of the two deities, and let his tail droop. "I think that he may just have what it takes to draw out the Z-Sword."

"What!" Kibito exploded, crouching closer to the Supreme Kai while Cell's brow drew in confusion. "You really think that a mere mortal could draw out the Z-Sword when none of your fellow Kais was able! Even you, master, couldn't draw out the Z-Sword! It's just not possible!"

"I'm aware of the powers of the Z-Sword Kibito," The Supreme Kai slyly looked to Cell, "I'm also that we haven't seen what our ally is fully capable of. He just might have enough power to withdraw the Z-Sword."

"What's a Z-Sword?" Cell asked, confused.

"Master, please, have you really thought this through!" Kibito yelled, only to be ignored.

"There's no harm in trying. Let's go." He said, turning around and ignoring the confused look of Cell. "Cell, follow me."

"Aren't you going to tell me what it is first?"

The Supreme Kai lifted off and started in the direction of the horizon. With seemingly no choice in the matter, Cell took off and followed the kaioshin.

"...He'll never pull the sword from that rock. I guarantee it." Kibito mumbled before following behind Cell. It was hard for Cell to take the servant's comments too seriously now that he saw how little his master actually paid attention to his words.

 **-Trunks-**

 _Home sweet home._

It wasn't pretty, but it was his. A world that had been under siege for so long that no one could remember anything better. Well, it was time to change that. He had the power to destroy 17 and 18 easily now, and he knew all about Cell.

In just a few minutes, the nightmare he'd grown up with would be over.

Trunks sealed the time machine back into its capsule, tucking it carefully into his pocket. He looked thoughtfully to the shattered façade of the Capsule Corp. building. His mother was there, probably worried to death about him. He really couldn't blame her for being overprotective this time, a trip to the past was way different from flying off to fight the androids. Yeah, she'd been sure that with his dad's and Goku's help they could beat the androids in the past, but there was no way to have planned for Cell. He had come frighteningly close to dying for good in the past. Gohan had pulled through though, and proven himself to be every bit of the warrior Trunks remembered him as.

 _I should go in and let her know I'm fine. The androids can wait a few minutes._ Trunks decided and smiled at the thought of finally being able to see his mother after his adventures in the past. _Man, I can't wait to tell her about Dad!_

Trunks started running for the entrance to the bunker, eager to share everything that had transpired in the past with his mother. For all the craziness she'd told him about, he was sure that there was no way she could have imagined something like the Cell Games!

He hadn't been paying attention to ki since his arrival in his own time, a consequence of the only real danger being two machines that couldn't be tracked anyway. As he did a quick, almost instinctive scan for his mother's energy, he was bludgeoned by a _huge_ power coming from the East.

Trunks froze mid-step, startled by the abnormal presence he felt. He spun to face the rough direction of the dark ki he was sensing, brows furrowing as he scowled.

"That dark energy... What the hell is that? It feels as high as Cell's Perfect form." Trunks said, voicing the thought before the words could really sink in. As he suddenly realised the implications of what he had said he gaped in astonishment, and involuntarily shuddered. "Am I too late? Did he absorb the androids?"

Trunks couldn't help but tremble at the thought. He had been outclassed by Cell from the very start, and in the Cell Games he had seen just how much Cell had been holding back during their fight. If Cell had gotten to the androids already, then there was no way for him to win on his own. The monster was just too strong.

 _I still have the time machine, I can just go back and get Gohan._

The idea calmed him down a little, but it didn't help placate his instincts. If a monster like Cell was left unsupervised, there was no guarantee that the planet would still be there when he came back to the future.

"Wait," He concentrated on the energy, examining it for more than just power. He had been sure that it could only belong to Cell, but it didn't feel like Cell's energy. With Cell, its ki was like thousands of smaller pictures being combined to form one, terrifying image. This _thing_ just felt like one high energy. "It's not Cell."

"So, that means I stand a chance." Trunks concluded, powering up to Super Saiyan with a look of grim determination. Even if that being was as strong as Cell had been, without the ability to regenerate and the extensive list of techniques Cell had it wasn't quite as dangerous. He had a chance of beating it with his own strength, a good chance given what he had learned from his father in the time chamber.

 _I can't keep running to the past for help every time I'm outmatched! I can do this on my own, like a real warrior._ Trunks decided, smirking to himself. The golden waves of his aura sparked a small bit brighter with his confidence and he cast a look back to his mother's lab. He still wanted to go in and show himself, but this took precedence. If the Earth were destroyed while he was playing catchup, he wouldn't have any excuse.

"Don't worry mom, I'll be back in no time."

With a look that would have made Vegeta proud, Trunks blasted off from the ruins of West City. His golden aura left a trail of light behind him as he soared through the skies, cutting through clouds with his rapid motion as he made haste for the dark power.

The land changed underneath him. From the rubble of cities, to the reclaimed woodland areas, to deep forests that didn't have any signs of human life. The deserted state of the world was an opposite to the vibrant place he'd seen in the past, which he could only guess at before. It filled his heart with more hatred for the androids now that he could see exactly what they had stolen from his timeline. It was one thing to hear about how much better things had been before they appeared it was another thing to _see_ it for oneself.

With his speed, it didn't take long to reach the place. It was a barren wasteland, and Trunks would have thought it abandoned if not for the small domed structure sticking out from the ground. There were a lot of strange soldiers milling about it doing nothing in particular, but from what he could see the important ones were standing close to the doorway of whatever the structure was.

There was a small, shrivelled _thing_ , a red demon in blue who was giving off the dark aura he'd sensed and...

 _ **And**_

"The androids!" Trunks gasped, shock overtaking his features as he saw the two terrors of Earth chumming around with the mysterious crew. 17 was hovering over one of the stronger ones holding a pointed instrument that sort of looked like a kettle, and 18 had her arms crossed and had one leg propped against the ship as she leaned against it.

"Darn it, what's going on here?" He growled, feeling the hint of nervousness return from its temporary banishment by his transformation. He didn't know who these people were, or why they were on Earth, but from the energy of the red one it wasn't anything good. But whatever their cause was, it couldn't have been good enough to recruit the androids.

If there was one thing Trunks knew, it was how they worked. Both of them were no better than teenagers, only caring for themselves and only doing something to satisfy their selfish desires. They had murdered their creator just minutes after being released into the world, and had destroyed civilisation just because they could. There was no way either of them would sign up for anyone else's team, not if they couldn't run the show.

 _17 and 18 would never agree to work for someone, this doesn't fit. I can't have missed this much while I was in the past! Even in Cell's timeline, something this severe didn't happen._

The train of thought brought another uncomfortable notion to Trunks' mind, one that added another layer of anxiety to the situation. Where was Cell? He knew that Cell couldn't have been close to the androids to begin with, given that by the time he encountered him in the alternate future, he had already beaten the androids. But that had been without the huge power level shining like a beacon in the equation.

He couldn't predict what a vile being like Cell would do in a situation like this, but it was highly probable that it would investigate. And find the androids, just standing around. Sure, the demon there would be a deterrent to charging in blindly, but in his initial form Cell was crafty. Trunks couldn't rule out the possibility that he might find some way to absorb the androids despite the risks.

Trunks couldn't – wouldn't – allow that. It was bad enough he had to deal with a threat near Cell's level, he didn't want to face the real thing too.

Without further ado Trunks brought his arms forward in a cannon formation. Yellow sparks crackled around his hands for a moment before a red ki orb manifested between his fingers. The orb hummed with deadly potential and Trunks affixed a stern look as he aimed down at the androids.

"This ends now." He whispered, quiet resolve flowing through him as he thought back to the years he had lost running. The friend whose body he had discovered face down in the rain. The dead heroes his mother mourned, and the father he never knew.

 _Father, I hope you're watching. Gohan, this is for you._

"Buster Cannon!"

The attack blasted down onto the procession of aliens (he had to assume they were aliens) faster than any of them could have realistically reacted to. He was ready for the explosion as his attack hit the androids -and the nearby ship- and was already bracing to deal with the aftershock.

 _ZIIIP_

Trunks startled. The demon was in front of him, holding his attack in both hands with a bemused expression on his face. He didn't know what to do, but he was taken by surprise by how fast his attack had been intercepted. That couldn't have happened if he really had the drop on them... which meant they knew he was there from the start.

"I believe this is yours?" The demon smirked at Trunks, freezing him in place. The ki ball buzzed as if in protest while it was squeezed smaller and smaller in his hands, all the while he kept his chilling gaze on Trunks.

"That was very unbecoming of you. True warriors don't rely on sneak attacks to defeat their opponents." Red hands clapped shut on Trunks' attack, his eyes temporarily glued to that spot. "Not that it would have worked on me, of course."

Maybe it was a habit he'd picked up from the past, but hearing that made his mouth automatically form a smirk, and his shoulders relax in ease. His green eyes moved up to look the demon in the eyes and he gave a Super Saiyan smirk right back.

"That attack wasn't meant for you; I don't even care who you are." Trunks looked down to the sadly unscathed androids, who were looking back up at him with mixed expressions of astonishment and glee. "I'm here to kill the androids. If you really want, I'll take you on after."

The demon looked a little surprised to find out he hadn't been the target of Trunks' attack, his black devilish eyes flicking down to the teen pair then snapping back to Trunks.

"So, you must be Trunks." The demon smiled in a way that on the outside could have been confused for friendliness if Trunks' didn't know better. "You are a great deal more powerful than 17 and 18 said you would be. Good. I was hoping you'd have energy worth taking."

Trunks' brow creased in confusion as he mulled over the words. "You want to take my energy? Why? What for?"

The demon clicking his teeth and chuckled. He shut his eyes, and revealed his teeth in his smirk. "You don't need to know exactly. Let's just say that you'll be contributing to a creation far greater than you could ever hope to imagine."

"Not the first time I've heard that, to be honest." Trunks replied without missing a beat, just before his aura flared from his and his muscles doubled in size. "I'll give you one last chance. Stand aside and let me finish off the androids, or die."

The demon didn't appear fazed by the threat."I have a better idea. You enter our ship and fight through a gauntlet of fighters, and then at the end you may face 17 and 18."

"Why would I do that? I could just blow up your ship if I really wanted to and take them out with it."

"You won't, unless you wish to deal with me. I can assure you that however high you think your chances of victory are, against me they are **zero**."

Trunks stood silent after that, contemplating his options. He could see that the demon had something planned, something bad. Why else would he have given the option? Certainly not for _fairness_. Cell had given them time to prepare for the Cell Games just to prolong his own entertainment. This demon didn't look to be any kinder than Cell, so it wasn't too far a stretch to say that it wouldn't be in his best interest to agree.

"No deal." Trunks stated. He waited for the demon's forehead to crinkle in disappointment, and for the tell tale movement that he was about to say something.

"..."

As soon as the demon started to talk, Trunks charged at him. He didn't waste any time on warming up, going straight for a double-fisted axe-handle to sandwich his opponent between his knee and his fists. He was satisfied to see his surprise attack land without any flaws, and swiftly raised his arms for a second strike. He slammed his elbow into the back of the demon's head, and in the milisecond where he was still hanging suspended in the air, Trunks shot both legs down to hit him even harder into the ground.

 **THUUUM**

The demon's impact sent up a vast cloud of dust and made the earth quake, but to Trunks' warrior eyes it wasn't good enough. He may have had the upper hand for now, but it had only been gained by surprise. For an opponent this strong, that advantage didn't last long.

Energy built up in his arms for half a second before he unleashed a storm of blazing bolts onto the area. With the thick cloud blanketing the area he couldn't see if his blasts were doing real damage, but he kept it up in the hope that the demon was still down. As a bonus he may have done some damage to the androids, but he wasn't counting on it.

"Way to go blondie!"

The yell came from a portion of the haze that was suddenly swept away to reveal a violet shield covering 17 and 18. The male android was looking up at Trunks with an enthusiastic grin, arms placed boldly on his hips in contrast to the subdued and bored manner of his sister.

"You've really been working out!" A growl escaped Trunks' throat as 17 shot up to meet him, 18 casually trailing behind. His mind and gaze kept switching between his real targets and the real threat to him. "What do ya think sis, he stand a chance?"

"Nope." 18 said, calmly tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "We're a lot stronger than before, a little muscle won't change anything."

"Aw shucks, here I was hoping he'd do better than last time." 17 smiled at 18 then turned to Trunks with a devious smirk. "Just so you know, this is going to hurt a lot."

"Funny, I was in a rush to tell you the same thing." Trunks said, confidently smiling at 17. He knew that the demon was still the priority, but he figured that he had a few minute window of opportunity to kill the androids in. He wasn't going to draw it out, but he did want them to realise just how inferior they were. "I always knew you were stupid, but I didn't think you were blind too. I just knocked someone a lot more powerful than you into the dirt, and you still think you can beat me?"

"Dabura? Please, I always knew that guy was a phoney. Didn't I tell you 18? He could talk a good game, but look at him now." 17 looked down at Dabura's presumed resting place and spat. "If you could put him out of commission, he couldn't have been too strong."

18 spoke up, "I agree 17; I didn't like him. So bossy, I'm surprised Babidi didn't let us teach him some manners."

As she went back to checking her nails, Trunks was struck once more by the oddness of what was happening. To him it was as if the Ms stamped onto the twins' heads came into focus.

"Babidi? Who's that? Did he give you those tattoos?" Trunks demanded, aura sparking out of habit as he asserted himself.

17 was unaffected by the outburst and grinned, pointing to the M on his forehead. "Oh, he gave us a lot more than this. Aside from just looking stylish, this M comes with a few upgrades. I won't go into too much detail, I know you're a little slow on the uptake, but let's just say that 18 and I are better than ever. If you thought it was hopeless fighting us before, well, now it's worse."

"Well, I'm glad to see you're so confident. It'll make showing you how **wrong** you are much more satisfying." Trunks said with a grin, entering a modest fighting stance before mockingly gesturing for them to attack him. "If you want to make this last longer, you should attack me together."

17 and 18 shared a glance that Trunks guessed meant that he had succeeded in provoking him, before blurring out of sight. Just over a week ago he would have been frantically searching the surroundings for any trace of them out of fear, now he just smirked and moved his arms to block just as they attacked him.

17's fist hit his forearm with a dull thud, 18's boot collided with his wrist with a solid smack. Yet Trunks gave no indication that their attacks hurt, in fact he looked into their eyes, welcoming the shock as he pushed out with the small amount of effort needed to blow them away.

"What? No way! How did he do that?"

Trunks just stayed put, enveloped in the pulsing glow of his aura. His anxiety about Dabura had mostly faded away, seeing as the demon still hadn't emerged from his crater. Sneak attacks could do a lot of damage, maybe he'd managed to seriously wound him. He could always check, after killing 17 and 18.

"Want to try again? C'mon, I'll give you one shot before wiping you out."

"That's it, you're dead kid. 17, no more games. He dies now." 18 hissed. 17 looked mildly surprised and amused by his sister's temperament change, and nodded his agreement.

"You're going to regret that." 17 declared, taking a moment to power up in a way that Trunks couldn't detect but for the increase in wind gusts around him. He glared at Trunks for a moment before dashing at him, 18 moving in sync with him.

Trunks casually brought up his guard, ready to repel the androids next futile attempt to hurt him. As the black and blonde haired teens rushed at him, he was suddenly seized from behind. He barely reacted in panic to the red limbs wound around him before two bionic fists smashed into his face. Moderate pain flared through his face, and he was only kept from soaring back by the brick-like force keeping him in place.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Dabura chuckled, moving his right hand over Trunks' mouth to stop him from talking. 17 and 18 looked startled at his appearance, and it only made Dabura chortle harder. Trunks tried to look back, shocked, but couldn't make it thanks to the tight hold on his body.

"Go, retrieve the kili drainer from Pui Pui. I'll keep this one in place." Dabura growled, struggling as Trunks fought to break free.

 _ **No!**_

The Super Saiyan aura clinging to him doubled in size and fury, and his muscles bulged to huge levels, his hair shot upward into sharper spikes. Dabura had to work harder to keep Trunks in place, just because of the sudden change to his physique.

"Go!" Dabura roared, yellow lightning striking him in the face. Trunks forced his head forward, out of Dabura's grasp before slamming it back into Dabura's face. The demon's body loosened from Trunks, giving him enough room to spin around and break the hold. Dabura held his hand over his eye, growling and moving to attack Trunks.

He hastily punched out, missing as Dabura leaned left. He cursed the slowness of the Ultra form as Dabura moved past his guard, launching an uppercut that sent him shooting back into the sky. Dabura appeared over Trunks, arms held up over his head in preparation for a blow. Before Trunks was in position to be at Dabura's mercy he recovered, eyes snapping open just in time to stop his ascent.

Trunks acted swiftly, casting his hands out and firing a gargantuan beam into Dabura's chest that quickly grew to swallow the demon entirely. He didn't have time to consider victory as the blue-clothed demon shot out from the beam and struck him with a vicious palm strike, launching him helplessly downward.

His impact wasn't as clean as Dabura's had been. His body skidded through countless rock formations as he carved a deep trench through the rocky earth. When he came to a halt Dabura manifested over him, palm held out and a large pink ki attack already formed.

"You should have taken my offer, Earthling." Dabura gravely intoned, the harsh light of his attack shining over Trunks as it deepened colour to hellish red. Trunks pushed himself up, overly large muscles shrinking down as he gave up the augmented form. It wouldn't help now, and to stand a chance at escaping he'd need all the speed he could muster. "Now, this attack won't kill you, but you won't be able to stop us from taking your energy. Whether or not that's a mercy, you may decide."

The energy in Dabura's aura spiked, and Trunks braced himself to either guard or dodge, whichever was better. His arms had flown up into a cross guard automatically, and it was only after a few seconds of nothing that he cautiously lowered them from in front of his face.

Dabura was gritting his teeth, straining against an invisible force, the pink attack frozen a few inches away from him. Trunks stared in astonishment, unsure of how to process what was happening to the demon.

 **-Cell-**

"Kibito! Go heal the Saiyan, I'll keep Dabura in place!"

"Right!" Kibito immediately teleported to Trunks, leaving the Supreme Kai alone with a very pleased Cell.

 _All that wasted effort on Kaioshinkai wasn't for nothing after all. Here we are, there's Trunks, and the Androids are right around the corner. Dabura isn't a problem either._

 _Perfection, here I come_

"Cell, while Dabura is occupied hit him with the strongest technique you have! With enough luck, we just might injure him enough to give that Saiyan a chance to defeat him."

Cell smirked and looked down at the Supreme Kai. If the deity had been facing him and not concentrating on keeping Dabura all bound up, he would have seen the pure, distilled evil in Cell's eyes.

"How about no." Cell laughed. Already he had turned to Babidi's ship, where he knew the androids where waiting, unaware and distracted. His tail rose as he entertained the thought of killing the Supreme Kai where he stood, but dropped as he dismissed the notion. He needed him to keep Dabura from meddling. "You see, I have... business to attend to. Don't worry though, I'll be right back."

"Cell!"

Cell's evil sneer wasn't wasted on the Supreme Kai as he leaped high into the air, bounding from rock to rock over the landscape faster than a speeding bullet. This close to his targets, with absolute guarantees of success, his chest was pounding in exhilaration. He could hardly contain himself!

"Hahaha! Don't worry my darling androids, Cell's coming!"

His enhanced hearing picked up snippets of conversation first, tantalising his appetite even more as he closed in on his targets.

"Where does he get off, thinking he can boss us around like this? I'm the strongest in the universe, he's just some red skinned lackey!"

"To be fair 17, he did handle Trunks a lot better than we did."

"Oh like that proves anything; he had the element of prize! You can take anyone down if you attack from behind like that! Well, except me of course."

"Y'know 17, I think your ego is getting out of hand. You don't actually bye all your hype, do you?"

"I am the hype!"

"...I don't know how to respond to that." 18 sighed "I'm just going to pretend you didn't just say that."

Cell's beak split into a full ear-to-ear grin as the androids came into clear view. This was it, this was his moment!

"Hey 18, do you see that green bug thing coming this way?"

"Nice try 17, I'm not falling for it."

"No seriously sis, it's right behind-"

Cell's after-image faded away as 18 slowly turned around, the real Cell high above.

"Real funny 17, I don't see anything."

"What the- It was there just now."

 _Thank you Tien._

"SOLAR FLARE!"

Blinding light shot from Cell's splayed hands, robbing vision from everything that witnessed it in a flash. Including the two suddenly helpless twin androids that were stumbling and clutching their eyes, as easy to absorb as any of the humans he'd devoured on the long path to this moment. Cell put **everything** he had into speed, hitting the ground at lightning speed, tail already opening and stretching into a funnel wide enough for two.

"Perfection is mine!" He cried out, triumphant declaration too late to alert 17 and 18 as his tail came down to swallow them both.

Oh, they struggled at first, but in their confusion they were powerless to resist as Cell laughed and watched their wriggling forms get closer to the base of his tail. As the bulge reached the point where his tail connected to his torso it suddenly shrunk.

For a second Cell felt nothing. His mind almost fell to questioning when he felt **It.**

 **Power. Like nothing he'd ever imagined. It flooded every pore, every tendon, every cell of his being. He could feel his body changing, tightening, growing, transforming as it was reforged by the power flooding** **through him.**

And it was flooding. Cell let loose a roar of primal intensity and a dome of emerald ki exploded from him, carving out the desert floor and shredding the top of Babidi's ship instantly. Half-way across the world the last crumbling cities collapsed from the release of power, the entire planet shivered in fear of the monster birthed upon its surface, hurricanes opened and raging water spouts sprang from the oceans. All those who could sense ki felt a deep sense of dread at the awakening of Cell's perfect form... all the way to New Namek, whose inhabitants wondered what had become of Earth.

 **Amidst the turbulence and burning cleansing of his apotheosis, one solid thought entered Cell's mind.**

 _What now?_

* * *

 _AN: Two weeks worth of chapters in one, such value! I cut out a **lot** of filler for this chapter, Supreme Kai vs the Androids, Cell failing to pull out the Z-Sword and Trunks doing the gauntlet in Babidi's ship. _

_I'll concede that Cell's time on Kaioshinkai may have been fun to see, but it didn't go anywhere special and just reeked of filler to me. Put it in the same box as Goku's further training with King Kai or in Otherworld. I may show it in a flashback though._

 _While Trunks taking on Pui Pui, Yakon and the Androids was a fun concept, there was no way in hell Mirai Trunks would jump through hoops like that._

 _My late night brain can be credited with all of 17's dialogue._

 _Trivia time: Perfect Cell right now is a little bit stronger than canon Cell. His Imperfect form was way weaker, but the Androids were a lot stronger. Not enough to matter against Trunks, but enough to make for up for this Cell's weakness._

 _Reviews_

 _Domenic: Thanks! I hope to keep it up._

 _Steelix: Training his Imperfect form would build the power for his later stages, but there wasn't nearly enough time to do it here. Well, he just did absorb the Majin Androids! While he wasn't infected by anything, I'm sure Cell appreciates the power boost._

 _Luke: I'm pleased to have subverted your expectations._


	5. Perfection

**Chapter 5: Perfection**

The storm of energy surrounding him was sucked back into his form, illuminating his perfect form with incandescent green light. The celestial hum of his transformation played through Cell's head, filling the silent places in his mind as his thoughts adjusted to the new shape of things.

His Perfect form was so much more than what his inferior self had pondered. In that crude state he had walked the world in, he had only thought of power and the applications of that raw, brute force. Yes, there was power, more of it than he would ever need to use but there was also _ability_. Before the techniques he had grasped had been almost textbook in their application, embarrassingly limited in their use. His imperfect self had known that cupping his hands together and speaking the chant would cause a Kamehameha, just like raising a finger just so would conjure a Death Ball or Supernova depending on the needed damage. His prior fighting style had been mired in relying on his body's natural abilities, too close to Frieza's use of rudimentary attacks with a few inventive techniques thrown in almost out of expectation that they _should_ be there.

Now he had a clarity that shone a light onto each of those aspects that he had neglected. He understood what each of his attacks could _really_ do, on their own or in tandem to increase their effectiveness tenfold. The Kamehameha could be so much more effective than it had been, just by improving his stance and properly concentrating on gathering energy. The Supernova represented more than just the ability to destroy a planet, as his earlier self had believed.

Any attack could do that if enough energy was wasted on it, hell, that was the reason Frieza had invented a whole other attack to do the job more efficiently. What a Supernova was good at was being large, virtually unavoidable and bombarding any enemy caught in it with its entire force before detonating. That last property was invaluable if dealing with an enemy capable of regenerating, as Namekians were. And of course, as he was. He already had plans to find and kill the Namekian people, if they utilised their fusion into something remotely annoying that would be a good way to kill them or exhaust their energy reserves defending. And now that he grasped its potential to wear him down if used correctly, he could create countermeasures.

The disparate regions of his mind that had been composed of Frieza, Goku, Piccolo and Vegeta were now as one. All their martial arts skills were his. The knowledge of the Turtle and Crane school, with the Namekian Demon style and the brute alien ferocity evident in the Saiyan Elite. All that, along with their individual traits. Goku's creativity, Piccolo's practicality, Vegeta's ruthlessness and Frieza's precision. The greatest warriors in the universe, all their skills and experience in the hands of one Perfect being.

All that was settled in the base of his new mind as Cell secured his knowledge of what he was now capable of. His train of thought was relaying joy, elation, and -the odd one out- frustration. Now that he could take a good look on the circumstances that had led up to this moment through the lens of his improved mental faculties, it was painful how his flawed self had handled things.

Firstly, Kibito should be lying in a pool of his own blood or better yet, part of the tableau of victims he had absorbed. The celestial attendant had lost all use to Cell the instant they had left Kaioshinkai. As soon as Dabura was trapped, Cell should have struck and killed the demi-god before he could make any trouble. While the red man was pitiful in terms of strength, he had two abilities that could be used to harm him more than the Supreme Kai or Trunks. Teleportation and Healing that put the Namekian child's to shame.

With teleportation he could ferry his enemies wherever they needed to be, always out of range of Cell's ability to destroy. And any wound that was less than critical could be healed and bring any foe back to 100% in seconds.

The only one Cell could think of who would benefit from such a utility was Trunks, owing to the infamous ability of Saiyan's to get stronger after near death experiences. He had no intention of ever leaving Trunks just _close_ to death, but since Kibito could just teleport in and steal him away at the last second with Cell none the wiser, it remained an avenue that could be exploited against him. Vegeta's son was nothing special right now, but how many Zenkais would it take before he approached him in power?

It was tempting to find out.

Secondly, his Imperfect self should have killed Trunks. The Saiyan had been lying in a ditch, beaten, surprised and off-guard. A quick Kienzan or Special Beam Cannon would have done the job, even a volley of Death Beams might have succeeded. Then Trunks would be a bloody corpse and not an issue his Perfect self even needed to think of. Although, that would rob him the chance of giving Trunks a worthy death. Not for his sake, but the race he represented. The Saiyan's had been a proud warrior race, capable of a greatness that had cowed the unquestioned mightiest in the universe, twice.

It was a power that meant nothing to the Androids -who he was somewhat amused to realise should actually have been called Cyborgs the whole time- or him, but it did warrant respect. The Saiyan components of his Perfection would take pride in giving Trunks the only honourable fight in his life before committing the species to extinction. What was left would be the Perfect actualisation of their potential, a far worthier continuation of their legacy than a purple haired brat who spent the first half of his life cowering in fear and the second half running from losing battles.

Third and finally, he should have ignored or absorbed the Supreme Kai when they first met. He had 17 and 18's memories now, and he could see that if he had followed them under his own power he would have find Babidi's ship out in the open, with no counts milling about and the Androids just lingering outside sometimes. All in all his jaunt with the gods had delayed his ascension by a few hours at worst, which was far too long. The information gained from the Supreme Kai would have been gained from the Androids anyway, Babidi had been quite eager to brag about his motivations.

The emerald glow faded and left Perfect Cell suspended in the air. He dropped down to the glassed earth, staring at his hands. The ivory digits were muscular, perfectly formed. He threw a punch to get a sense of what he could comfortably do now, and followed up with dozens more to test his speed. Each of his mock attacks were as basic as he could make them, totally devoid of any marital skill. He knew dozens of tweaks, some basic some advanced that could make his punches harder, faster and just harder to see coming. All of it just fell into place and came smoothly with no effort on his part.

 _Finally I have achieved my ultimate goal. I am Perfect._

"I get it now." Cell said, more to himself than any listener. A tiny smile played at his lips as he looked away from his hands and towards the locked ki of the heroes and the villain. Trunks' energy was back at maximum and Dabura's felt like it was pressed against glass. From what he could guess about the Supreme Kai's abilities, that glass would break any minute now. If he intervened he could kill Dabura without any special effort and finish off the rest of them in short order. Yet Dabura was the only one alive who could give him a good fight, and he was still undecided about how much he would indulge Trunks before killing him.

Right now he needed to have a long overdue conversation for the reason his pursuit of the Androids hadn't been a bloated, months long trek to nowhere. He drew in a deep breath to project his voice over the area, though he didn't have to given that Babidi was doubtlessly watching already.

"Babidi! Show yourself or I'll reduce what's left of your ship to pieces! I'm sure your precious Majin Buu could withstand the blast, but I doubt you have the same resilience!"

He waited. The shattered cone of Babidi's ship showed no sign that anyone was moving through it and he couldn't sense any ki from the inside. He didn't believe for a second that they were dead; the energy of his transformation would have been easy to endure with the simplest effort. For all they were hyped up to be, Pui Pui and Yakon should have been able to do that.

After entirely too many minutes of waiting, Cell held his hand out with the palm aimed down the length of the ship. Blue particles swirled and collected in his hand; a generic ki ball but one that could crack the Earth's crust in Cell's hand.

"If you're not out by the count of five, I'm going to fire this blast, and you're going to die!" He paused and gave a cheeky smirk as the blue point of light in his hand shot up to the size of a football. The devilish grin on his face grew as the glow from the jagged blue waves of his attack fanned out. "One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"F-"

Cell halted as he spotted a clear shimmer in the air, right before a trio stood before him. He would have reacted with more surprise if he hadn't experienced teleportation before. His grin shrunk to a winning smirk, though his blast remained just as potent and he made no move to lower his arm. Babidi floated between Pui Pui and Yakon, and all of them looked suitably grim. There were other barely visible shimmers in the air as a few dozen surviving Majin soldiers teleported in a wide arc around Cell.

"You were cutting it awfully close. Did you think I was bluffing?" Cell asked playfully, voice high and sounding in no way like he holding a blast that could kill his audience in one shot. "I didn't ask you to bring your goons Babidi, and since they're not part of my offer I don't see why I should let them live." The blast was extinguished and his fingers tightened into a fist. "You all should consider yourselves lucky, you'll be the first ones to be touched by my Perfect body."

In what would have been a blink to them, he moved. A snapping kick to Pui Pui's head broke his neck and sent his body flying. An elbow drop onto Yakon's head to smash his skull left the reptile's body to topple over. Getting rid of the pests was accomplished by firing Death Beams through their skulls, though he didn't pay too much attention to aiming. When the split second passed Cell stood with his arms over his muscular chest, smugly looking down on Babdi. The fear, shock and awe on display from the wizard would have been enough to raise Cell's mood even if he hadn't just committed a few rather enjoyable murders.

"Now Babidi, I know you must be wondering who I am, what I want, how I know about you. Well to cut a long story short, I am Cell, I already have what I want and I have access to all of 17 and 18's memories. So before you start asking stupid questions, yes, I know all about Majin Buu and how you plan on reviving it."

His magenta eyes flashed as he focused all of his gaze on Babidi, staring the shrivelled wizard intensely in the eyes to make sure that he was absolutely understood.

"I knew about all that from the Supreme Kai already. So, I must ask: Why Earth?" Cell questioned with a frown, hushing his words as he spoke. "I know Buu's ball was here, but why did you stick around after it was clear that this was a dead world? I absorbed most of the human population as soon as I got free, and it barely lifted my power. From what you told the Androids, you'd need more energy than the Earth has to revive Buu. So why stick around?"

Babidi begrudgingly spoke, teeth almost clenched from hesitation. Cell would have disliked his high pitched voice if he hadn't heard it through the androids. "Pui Pui was the one who detected high levels of power just coming and going randomly. I didn't believe him, but I didn't see anything wrong with letting him go check things out. You know what happened next..."

Cell nodded, satisfied with Babidi's answer. He could have made an educated guess but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun as making the arrogant mole rat dance to his tune.

"Good answer! I can fill in the rest of the gaps myself. Now, my second question. If you had to take all of Dabura's energy, how much of Buu's energy would it fill up?"

He watched patiently as Babidi looked thoughtfully down at the ground. It still bore the destructive marks of his transformation, and now was flecked with bits of gristle from Yakon. So it couldn't have been too good for quiet thought, not that he cared about Babidi's state so long as he got answers.

"A quarter, maybe less."

A wide smirk was on his face just as he heard Babidi's estimate, full of sinister intentions. He looked darkly down at the wizard before masking it with light interest as he had been doing before.

"This is a technical question that I do need you to give a lot of thought, since I'm not sure how your magic works." Cell looked behind his back and took note of the fact that Dabura's ki had just shot up. The blood red haze of the demon king's energy was just visible from where he stood. But not important just yet.

"I absorbed the Androids to achieve this form, they're both still alive in me. And while I wish I could say they were part of the thousands of voices screaming in my head or that they were awake and trapped, really it's more of a coma. I can feel that your magic is still working on them. Your spell means that any damage they inflict on an opponent is transferred as energy to revive Majin Buu. So, purely out of curiosity, if I were to go over and beat the living daylights out of Dabura, would it count?"

Babidi frowned. "I honestly have no idea. 17 and 18 are...part of you, but they aren't the ones doing the fighting. It would be much easier to just cast the spell on you." Babidi clenched his tiny fists, glaring at Cell's boots before boldly turning his head up. "Why do you want to help release Majin Buu anyway!"

"To answer the latter, let me tell you a tale. It involves five gods, one monster and your dad. This monster kills four gods and leaves the most incompetent one behind for some reason, just before it's sealed away and placed on Earth. Nothing particularly special happens, then one day a Perfect being is born. This Perfect being, a physical god in his own right, has no equals and wants a decent challenge. Only two other beings are around to give this challenge, and neither of them are any real threat. So as far as he knows, as soon as they're dead he'll have no more worthy opponents. Now, this Perfect being can only guess as to how strong the monster really is but it has to be stronger than 99% of the universe."

Cell spread his arms to his sides and balled his hands into fists, and directed a confident stare past Babidi. "So that's why I want to help you free Majin Buu. For a good fight. I doubt that it lives up to the hype, considering that I killed what the Supreme Kai touted as the strongest in the universe in a second, but it should be fun."

His smile disappeared as if a switch had been flipped and he stared darkly at Babidi. "But you won't be casting anything on me. I know what happened to 17 and 18 after your little chat. The King of Demons you treat like a common servant. The most formidable warrior from the Dark World you used as a dog. I assume Pui Pui was something more than a bartender where he's from, and yet you bossed him around like-" Cell caught himself before he said Raditz or Appule, knowing that the reference wouldn't mean anything here. "A village idiot. I am Perfect, and there is no way in this world or the next that I'd ever let you control me. And if I catch you _thinking_ about using your magic on me anyway, I will take you in my hands and squeeze until you're closer to a pancake than whatever species spawned you."

He let his threat hang in the air for Babidi to soak up before he continued speaking. "Check your magic dial and see if my slaughter of your troops affected it at all. If yes, I'll go do things the fun way and beat the life out of Dabura. If not, then I'll beat him anyway and bring his body here to drain directly."

While Babidi pouted and waved his arms, Cell turned his sight back to Dabura and Trunks. The fight felt quite fierce, which was not what he had expected. Dabura was holding back a lot more than he should have been to win, but not so much that Trunks should have been able to take him on evenly. The Kais must have been assisting somehow but he couldn't see what value they could add.

"Hmm," Babidi said. The Arabian lantern shaped device was held in Babidi's hands, and the wizard was holding his face to the glass to see the measurements. The gauge was a small distance from its starting position, but Cell didn't know what that entailed.

Babidi removed the instrument from his face. "It's a little over 5% but that could be from Dabura's fight with that blonde kid."

Cell nodded and frowned, turning away from Babidi to think. He wanted to fight Dabura, no question about that. He knew the Demon King was hiding a lot of power, nearly as much as he was. Just swooping in and stabbing him in the back didn't appeal to him, not just because of how dishonourable that tactic was. A good fight was all he wanted, and if not Dabura that left Trunks. Trunks, who hadn't won a single fight in his life and right now was struggling with an enemy who wasn't fighting seriously. Maybe Cell would drain Trunks' energy for Buu, the boy wasn't anything worthwhile with it.

Now that he was Perfect, it was important to set up auxiliary goals. Reviving Buu was on the list in many ways just because it was a task he couldn't punch his way through (not _directly_ at least). He was uncertain if the magic allowing the Androids to drain energy would work through him or not, but there was no way he'd submit to a worm like Babidi. The idea of becoming even more powerful than he was now was intriguing but not worth the price.

"All right. You stay here and don't die. I'm going to go and give Dabura the fight of his life. Or death, you know, depending." He said, the conversation with Babidi falling down the priority list as he prepared for the first real fight of his life. Without another word to the wizard he lifted off, zooming away through the air to the battlefield. The air rushing past his body exploded outward in a sonic boom as for the first time he ignited his new, golden aura.

"They thought that Trunks' power was impressive? Just wait till they get a load of me."

* * *

 _AN: I'm surprised I managed to hold in the good stuff for four chapters, truly I must be some kind of Saint /s Like I said, there was supposed to be a lot more tomfoolery in Cell's imperfect form but much like Super 17 and Vegeta GT in Break Through the Limit, what looked like a cool idea turned out stupid when I had to write it down. And I must confess, I was looking forward to this part of the story a lot more than the others, hence the swift update!_

 _Reviews:_

 _Mellra: Ok, now that the chapter's out I can admit that you were right on more than just 1/4 count._

 _Goofy goober: Thanks for your concern. The catch is that if I don't actually push myself no updates or writing would ever get done. It's why there was a mysterious two week break in the updates for this and why I waited a year or two before actually publishing this._

 _Warriorofdark: It may happen, but how ever would they get enough energy to revive Buu? :P_

 _Coronado montes: Dankie!_

 _Luke: Thank you - I'm pretty excited to be writing it!_

 _Steelix: That's Future Trunks for you. Guy doesn't take any shit..._


	6. The Demon King

**Chapter 6: The Demon King**

When Cell did arrive on the scene he had the ill-timing to do so at the exact moment to save Trunks from being choked to death. It was completely incidental that his kicking Dabura in the face ended up saving the demi-Saiyan's life, but that was still a disappointment to him. For one, he didn't ever want to be caught doing something so _heroic._ And for the other, if Trunks had actually been about to die by the hand of a second-rate demon then he wasn't worth Cell's time.

As it were, Dabura was sent head first into a cliff and Cell had a few moments to reintroduce himself to the slack jawed idiots witnessing his Perfect form. None of their reactions communicated the awe they should have felt from being in his glorious presence. The Supreme Kai and Kibito were both staring at him in surprise and confusion, with a pathetically small amount of hope. They thought he was there to save them?

 _How pathetic. They're gods, and yet they're the most useless ones here._

Trunks was staring at him in sheer unbridled terror and horrified disbelief. An apt response for sure, but it didn't explain why he looked so... familiar with him. He was sensing the same energy that the two wannabe gods were, yet he was having a _much_ stronger reaction to Cell's power.

 _Is he such a coward that even this small taste of my Perfection is enough to send him trembling? Now that's just miserable; what would Vegeta think if he could see this?_

Picturing Vegeta's sheer disappointment warmed Cell's spirits enough to move on from analysing Trunks' facial expressions and go back to watching the rubble collect over Dabura's body. It wouldn't be long before he came bursting out, raring to go. Best to take advantage off his unoccupied time while he could.

"You're all probably very confused by what just happened. I'm sure you have a lot of good questions running through those air-filled heads of yours, but I can't answer them all."

He smirked and turned to the Supreme Kai, looking him in the eyes and enjoying the jolt he saw run through the deity.

"In comparison to that, basic, creature you knew before, you may call me Perfect Cell. For you see, this is my-"

"-Perfect form, yeah, I got the memo." Trunks interrupted, clutching his left arm with his right and holding it against his chest. His eyes were narrowed dangerously, as though he could actually do anything to Cell. "Please, hearing it once was enough, I don't think I could stand your narcissistic speech a second time." He glanced at the Kaioshin, "I'll save you the trouble of hearing it from him. He absorbed both Androids and went from a disgusting bug to a slightly less disgusting bug. He calls himself Perfect, but really the only thing perfect about him has got to be his ego."

Cell was dumbstruck, blinking heavily once for clarity then multiple times after to make sure that he wasn't missing something crucial to the picture. Trunks was staring back at him, an inappropriate smirk spread over his face for someone who not only was facing the Perfect being, but had just insulted that being – after already taking a beating from someone inferior.

"How the hell do you know all that?" Cell asked with a frown.

Trunks grinned, revealing teeth only partially flecked with blood. "I guess I must've read your palm big guy. That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Oh, a comedian huh? Well I don't like your jokes. Be careful they don't cost you your tongue." Cell scowled. "Tell me how you know so much about me or I'll start breaking bones." Cell paused, then added, "And what did you mean you heard it before?"

Trunks wasn't fazed by what Cell had said and actually dropped his Super Saiyan form, the exact opposite of what he **should** have done! How was he not quaking in his boots? And how did he get all this knowledge?

Ripples of power ran over the land in warning seconds before a dark conflagration flared up from the just-settled rocks over Dabura, who stood in the centre leaving no surprise as to the source, or his feelings. Borderline fury was obvious from the fangs he bared snarling at Cell, along with the fire in his eyes (that were stunningly close to the serpentine look of his own Imperfect form).

"Who are you?"

Cell almost didn't respond, keeping his glare on Trunks for an extra second before shifting it to Dabura and letting a cool, calm smile play at his lips. The demon king knew nothing, not even that his master had left him to die for Cell's amusement. Trunks, despite being leagues weaker, was an astronomically more interesting target just for the information he held. Dabura could wait. He somehow doubted that the demon would be content to stand aside while he attended to real business, but he was more than willing to make him.

"Cell, Perfect being and your executioner if everything goes according to plan." He proffered a jovial half wave in the perplexed demon's direction, then aimed at Trunks with his other hand. "If you'd like to know more, the resident _oracle_ sits here. Apparently whatever cut rate fighting skills he inherited were exchanged for the... _novel_ ability to see the future."

"You should take care not to make light of me. I am the King of Demons, a title I **earned**." Dabura said, voice rumbling with menace, clearly dismissing everything Cell had just said. Which was a pity, because it would have been nice to have someone besides Trunks understand all his jibes at, well, Trunks. "Cell... Thank you; I do like to know the names of those I kill."

"I don't. If I bothered learning the names of everyone I'd murdered on the way here I'd still be listening. Unless you mean **worthy** opponents, in which case I agree with you. It is why I'm glad 17 and 18 took the liberty of introducing themselves and saving me the trouble."

"17 and 18? What do you know about those Earthlings?"

"Everything."

Cell stated, a sinister smile tugging at the corners of his pale lips and teasing in his eyes as he replayed the final moments of the Androids. The dark haired rebel and beautiful blonde were now truly inseparable in a way that their lives had only hinted at, united within his complete design. Every other part of their lives was an open book for him as well, but aside from details about Babidi's crew, bare bones details of their terrorising the world and the deaths of the Z-Warriors he had no interest in them. His own mind was far better constructed.

Cell's hand flashed up and fired a yellow ki ball at the Supreme Kai, who had been attempting to stealthily reach Kibito. The attack was a weak one, he didn't want to kill the god. Not yet at least.

"Supreme Kai, didn't anyone teach you it's not polite to skulk around like that?" He said with an amused rise in his tone. Whisper thin smoke streamed from his palm, and the body of the mohawk sporting god as he pushed himself up off of his back. Kibito made to assist him but stopped after the Supreme Kai held up his hand, casting an angry yet fearful look at Cell.

"I still have my uses for you and your obstinate help, though I'm sad to say that with Trunks here you've dropped down to number three on my to-do list. Though on second thought, maybe dealing with you first would be better."

Cell smirked and placed his hands on his hips in a perverted approximation of Goku's old stance.

"So, Kibito, teleport the three of us to Kaioshinkai so I can give pulling out the Z-Sword another shot. Then bring me back here and you can continue spending the rest of eternity twiddling your thumbs as you please."

Cell's grin may have appeared friendly, yet the dark look in his eyes was anything but. The trembling maroon skinned deity looked resigned, and Cell was satisfied that he'd get what he wanted as he started a slow glide towards the pair of divine beings.

A blast collided with the side of his head and made him stumble forward, wasting a half second on regaining his bearings. That half second was all that was needed for the Supreme Kai and Kibito to rush out to each other and teleport out with what Cell could only describe as desperate haste. An instant later, Trunks' energy left as well.

So, they were as interested in what the boy had to say as he was. Oh, they were probably going to do something completely besides the point like have him pull out the paperweight they called a legendary weapon. When he found those Kais again, he was going to make them suffer for disrupting his plans at every turn. The answers he would have gotten from Trunks would have to wait.

"That is starting to get annoying," he sighed, blinking in an exasperated manner before smirking and looking to Dabura with a devious gleam in his eyes. "Oh well, back to Plan A I suppose. Do you need time to power up or can we get started? I'm looking forward to getting a decent warm up from you."

Dabura assumed a look of confusion, then a grin of slowly building anticipation grew over his fangs as a dark flaming aura uncoiled from him.

His heart pumping for the first real test of his Perfect form, Cell brought an extra bit of power up to surpass Dabura's speed. His elbow struck the demon's face in the split second of acceleration, leaving him open for the added follow up of a left hook driven into his jaw with crushing force. Dabura hurtled back and Cell blasted off after him, throwing a blast at his retreating form. The ki orb passed through the After-Image, leaving Cell a moment to panic before a great force crashed into his back and launched him wildly into the ground.

Cell recovered, landing on his arms and knees, and turned his head up to see what Dabura's next move was. The devil was aiming a large sphere of black and red ki down at him, which surprised Cell for how quickly it had been charged with all its power.

 _No time to dodge!_

Cell's aura burst as he threw himself up at Dabura, who fired the attack at Cell a split second before he moved, and he held both hands out to catch the attack while it was still in motion. As soon as his hands touched the electric surface of the sphere he could feel it start to react violently, but he grinned at what his interception meant for Dabura as he kept flying at the demon with the attack held out in front of him.

The attack was soon sandwiched between Cell's hands and Dabura's. The ki ball managed to remain stable as it was squashed between the two opposing forces for three seconds before it exploded, darkening the sky in a flash and throwing apart the two combatants.

Cell recovered quickly, staring ahead with confidence unfazed by the minor collection of burns on his green carapace.

"Well done! I actually had to work there!" Cell said, though the compliment was undermined by his cruel smile. "Though aside from your strength, I really don't know all that much about you. Tell me, can you sense energy?"

Dabura looked confused at the question, still catching his breath from their brief clash. The demon king soon regained his posture and met Cell's eyes with an arrogant glare. "Of course I can."

"Good. Then surely you can tell that I'm not using half of my full power yet." Cell flexed his arms, summoning his aura up once more. "And I know you're holding back as well. It won't do you any good against me."

From Dabura's shocked reaction, he could tell that the degree of his ability to sense ki was something that the demon didn't possess. It was a shame, that would have made for a battle with far more even odds. The lack of a challenge due to the perfect combination of skill was something that could be circumvented by just playing dumb and acting as though he didn't have the ability to detect every move Dabura made as he made it, but then where would the fun be in that? The demon would either have to learn how to keep up or die for his failures.

He just hoped that Majin Buu would give a decent fight, if Dabura couldn't deliver. Though from the hyperbole the Supreme Kai had been spewing he was starting to doubt if there even was another being in the universe able to keep up with his perfect form. Trunks, pathetic specimen that he was, was vastly stronger than all of the warriors the idiotic god had feared bar Dabura. And now it looked like Dabura would turn out to be all brawn with no finesse.

 _That almost makes me wish Goku were still around. He was a true warrior, even with his disgusting heroics._

"Yes, I see, you really are quite good. I knew I shouldn't have underestimated you after you got the drop on me, that kind of speed isn't something just anyone can manage." Dabura grimaced then yelled out as his dark aura flared around him. "Killing you will surely provide enough energy to assist in Majin Buu's revival."

"That's what they tell me," Cell muttered under his breath, before smirking and summoning up even more of his power, enough to force his muscles to expand under his carapace. "So, are you ready?"

Dabura vanished from sight in response. Cell instantly put up his guard, and when Dabura appeared behind him ready to strike Cell spun around and struck the demon king in the side of the face with a spinning kick. Before Dabura could be carried away too far, Cell sped up to catch him and began landing a machine gun volley of punches into his midsection. After a few minutes of relentless blows, Cell brought both hands up over his head then slammed them down into Dabura's skull, sending him hurtling towards the ground.

"Kamehameha!"

The blue light of the attack swelled and burst forth from Cell's hands, shooting into the ground before firing up a colossal explosion of light and heat. The shock waves that rippled out flattened the landscape and sent clouds of dust blasting past Cell's position. The artificial being stopped, keeping his hands up in the Kamehameha firing position to observe the effects his beam had on the Earth. Even hastily fired it still had far more power than anything he had been able to muster in his imperfect form, more than enough to take Dabura down or seriously injure him. With the damage he'd already suffered there was no way the demon would be able to weather that without consequences.

 _Hmm. Can demons regenerate? I don't think so, given that King Piccolo's spawn were rather easily dealt with, but that could have been an issue of power. I'm sure Piccolo Jr could have recovered from the wound that killed his father by the time he died. It's pointless. Even if he can regenerate, that blast would still have cost him energy._

Cell was confident that Dabura's death would be at hand in a few minutes given that the demon couldn't even handle basic attacks like the ones he'd been throwing at him. While they were roughly on the same plane, the difference between them mentally may as well have been insurmountable. He hadn't been joking when he called it a warm up after all.

 _SCHLING_

The sound that reached Cell's ears was the first sign of danger, half-turning his head he was able to see a red shape start to materialise behind him. With a speed that was frankly surprising for how damaged he should have been, Dabura swung at Cell with a sword that seemingly appeared from nowhere, slicing through his right arm and cutting almost completely through his torso.

The sharp, penetrating pain that struck Cell was second to his sheer surprise at seeing his arm drop lifelessly through the air, while a good meter of metal caught his eyes when he looked down in a daze.

Fighting against the pain, he grit his teeth, purple blood leaking from his mouth, "You... Where did you get that sword?"

Dabura gave a cruel leer, sadism evident as he exposed his fangs to Cell in victory. He withdrew his sword from Cell's body contemptuously slow, intent on savouring the agony his opponent was in. Not taking his eyes off Cell for a second, Dabura extended his sword skywards with both hands grasping the hilt.

"You'll pay for underestimating the King of the Demon Realm, bug," he said, smirk dissolving into a furious snarl, "NOW DIE!"

"WA-"

Cell's words were cut off as the sword sliced into his skull, shearing off one of his horns in one go as Dabura carried on his diagonal swing. In less than a second the top half of Cell's skull was cleaved from the bottom, separating with a gout of purple blood that stained the sword as well as the front of Dabura's blue shirt.

All life left Cell's eyes as he dropped out of the sky.

"An enemy like that, I couldn't afford to take any chances." Dabura let out with a sigh, grimacing as he relaxed his sword arm. The blows that he'd been dealt were a dull pain, far more than he was used to feeling for centuries. But he could bear far worse. The true loss was of all the energy that he might have been able to obtain from Cell if they had been able to fight for longer. But the Demon King was no fool, the bug hadn't been lying about the amount of power it held back, nor was it unskilled in combat. Losing would have been far worse than losing its energy. "Hopefully killing it provided enough energy towards Majin Buu's revival to be worth losing Pui Pui and Yakon."

They had also lost 17 and 18, but they had just joined the crew and were rather insufferable, particularly 17.

Dabura gathered his energies and blasted off towards the ship. Enough time had been wasted here; with the Supreme Kai and his servant gone and Majin Buu's capsule retrieved they could leave this world. The human population was too low to provide the energy needed to revive Buu, but there were other planets more suitable for the job.

As soon as he laid eyes on what remained of the ship, Dabura scowled. The fact that the top half had been practically erased was undoubtedly Cell's work.

"Master Babidi, I-"

He was cut off by a massive force slamming him into the ground hard enough to make his entire being tremble. With a snarl, he rolled over and leapt to his feet, only to freeze at the confident visage looking down at him.

"Going somewhere?"

Cell asked with an overwhelming level of smugness, the golden flames of his aura burning brightly along his renewed body. For him, the speechless gaping of Dabura was well worth the scare of almost being killed. Well, not really, but it helped.

"What's wrong Dabura? You look surprised to see me."

"How... How are you still alive? I cut off your head!"

Cell smirked, shutting his eyes for a moment as he replayed the panicked instant of warning he had before the blinding flash of pain in his head cut off all sensation. Exiting the memory, Cell tapped his finger against the black shell of his skull.

"Yes, I admit you gave me quite the fright with that move. Bravo, if it hadn't been for Dr Gero's genius design you would have succeeded in killing me. You see, I am an amalgamation of the foremost species in the universe: The Frost Demons, Saiyans and even Namekians. Namekians are able to regenerate from most wounds provided their heads are intact and Frost Demons can sustain truly horrific injuries before dying. If I'd been an ordinary Namekian, you'd have killed me, but thanks to my Perfection, all you succeeded in doing was slowing me down. With even a part of my core remaining I was able to regenerate and come back good as new!"

Cell crossed his arms over his chest and looked to Dabura with pity, "You see, you never stood a chance and by trying to kill me like that before I could fully enjoy my Perfect Form, you've made me very mad."

At once Cell extended his arms to the sides, letting his power explode with such force that Dabura was thrown back, forced to keep his hands up to protect against the swell of force.

"These are your last seconds of life, and I'm done playing around! Say Goodbye!"

Unleashing the full might of his perfect form, it struck Cell as odd that Dabura no longer appeared frightened. Rather he looked thoughtful and not in the 'Well it's been a good life' way he had seen from humans before absorbing them. He looked like he was about to try something.

 _Let him! I've already seen all his tricks! He won't even be able to touch me if I don't allow him._

Dabura smiled and drew in his breath.

Cell continued to stare confidently ahead and flare his power, while inwardly preparing to dodge the mouth beam that would be sent at him. It was a basic attack, sadly, and not one that would have been any real trouble dealing with. But seeing how Dabura still had the _audacity_ to believe he had an ace up his sleeve, it paid to be ready to dodge. Then he blast him from behind and put the demon out of his misery.

With a surprisingly loud noise, Dabura spat onto Cell's face. The demon smirked triumphantly, while Cell couldn't help but drop his serious composure to look with disbelief at Dabura.

"You just spat in my face." He slowly enunciated, the fact settling in and drawing out a rage colder than the void between stars. "I was going to kill you quickly. But you just had to _defile_ my perfect body."

"I've done a lot more than that, insect. As you're about to see."

Before Cell could respond he became aware of a strange numbness spreading over his cheek and across his jaw. He couldn't get a good look at it, but whatever it was it was spreading fast, and from the way Dabura was already relaxing with his arms folded, would definitely end their fight.

Cell's next move came about purely due to instinct than any tactical thinking he could have done in the few seconds he had before the creeping feeling covered his head completely. His form blurred apart to form two Cells, each one moving away from the other with their hands aimed at their opposite's face. Cell was just about able to make up a stone grey colour eating away at half of his face before each copy fired a blast as strong as they had at the other.

For the second time that day all consciousness left him.

When Cell regained feeling, he was lying on the ground. His face felt utterly numb but as far as he could tell he was otherwise fine.

"Whoa Dabura, did you see that? He just blasted himself in the face." Babidi's voice reached him, sounding perplexed. The little rat must have finally gotten the guts to come and see his pet demon fight, after he'd won of course. There was a sliminess to the sorcerer that guaranteed Cell would enjoy killing him one day.

"I admit it is strange Master Babidi, but this Cell is like nothing I have ever seen before. It was able to recover from an attack that would have killed any other living creature."

Before Dabura could put two and two together, Cell struck. Shooting to his feet, Cell rammed his skull into Dabura's at lightning speed, flooring the demon king hard enough to send dust streaking up into the air.

"Well I can't say it hasn't been fun, but that's twice you almost killed me and I'd rather not keep risking it." Cell growled, index and middle fingers placed on his forehead and sparking with ki. He kept his murderous gaze on Dabura's form as it struggled to rise, while charging the attack even further. He didn't want to take any chances, not with someone who could actually end his life.

"Well go on then, attack me!" Dabura roared, steadily getting to his feet.

No longer being in the mood for games, Cell silently complied and swung his hand forward, "Special Beam -"

Dabura blurred out of sight, appearing behind Cell with his sword drawn, swinging at the neck. The blade cleaved clean through the neck, which made Dabura grin devilishly until Cell's entire body phased out of being.

"Cannon!"

The purple and yellow beam pierced out through Dabura's back, forming a gaping hole in his chest cavity which the demon could only stare at mutely before he collapsed onto his knees. A moment later he slumped forward.

Cell grinned with genuine pleasure as he lowered his pointed finger to gloat over the King of Demon's corpse. Using the After-Image while preparing an attack like the Special Beam Cannon was a large drain on energy, but knowing what he knew of Dabura's tactics it had been well worth it.

"Seriously, all you did was attack from behind." He spat, aiming his hand down at Dabura's body. One blast later and there was nothing left of Babidi's greatest slave.

 _That was tiring. If the Kais return with Trunks I might actually have to watch out._

"Okay Babidi, how's that meter look," Cell said, casting a glare onto Babidi who was caught open mouthed staring at the spot where Dabura had been. At Cell's words the wizard looked like he was struck by lightning before he reached for the energy measuring device.

"The needle, it's, um," Babidi hesitated, trying to make out a precise reading. Cell's smile disappeared as he waited, the illusion of mirth leaving him as he watched the imp struggle to get his words out.

"Well! What is it?"

"It's a little over 15%. Not too bad, considering how you two didn't even fight for that long." Badidi answered, stealing another regretful glance over to the smoking area that had held Dabura's body.

"15%? That's a waste. Are you sure that machine's functioning properly?"

"I could have gotten more energy if the two of you had really laid into each other, or if you'd let me drain him of his energy first! It's not my fault you decided to hurry things up!"

Babidi's yelling prompted Cell to lazily raise his finger and send a Death Beam past the wizard's head, eliciting a frightened yelp from him as he immediately dropped to the floor.

"Watch your tone. I'm keeping you around to revive Buu, and it you want to live past that I _strongly_ recommendbeing polite."

 _If Dabura wasn't such a damn snake I could have gotten more energy out of him. But the damage he was able to do to me with just those two surprise attacks, there's no way I could have taken that chance. I'll just have to tolerate this vermin a while longer until Buu is revived._

"I hope you weren't planning on getting all the energy to resurrect Buu from this planet alone. I'm afraid it's mostly dead, on account of the androids and yours truly."

Babidi looked moderately surprised at Cell's words, but soon buried the emotion behind a blank expression as he looked towards his ruined ship.

"I'd hoped there would be a few billion humans here just to be safe, but that's clearly not the case. And I can't go to any other planets thanks to the damage to my ship. I'm stuck here!"

The wizard's malevolent glower at that moment frankly startled even Cell with its fury. The bio-android was many things, but he wasn't an engineer, and had no clue where to start when it came to repairing a space ship like Babidi's. But he did know someone who would.

That idea would have to wait until the others had been exhausted; for some reason he doubted Bulma would be overjoyed to rebuild a spaceship meant to harvest planets for their energy.

"Can't you just teleport us to another planet? You told 17 and 18 that that was one of your powers."

"Well I can use my magic to send fighters on certain levels of my ship to other planets, but that doesn't change the fact that the ship would still be at the same place, along with Majin Buu's pod."

"Oh, then that makes my plan a lot easier. Just send me to some other world with that magic needle of yours and I'll get the energy needed for Buu." Cell said, eager to terrorise a world that wasn't earth.

"Uh, fine, here you go." Babidi said, handing over the energy draining device to Cell.

 _I might need to clear out a few worlds before I have the energy I need. I just hope that none of them are boring, that'd be the worst. Hmph. I wish I could just speed this whole thing up._

Cell's eyes widened as he realised that he'd been ignoring a possibility the whole time, one that could greatly aid in bringing back Buu.

"Babidi, if I told you to find a planet, could you do it? I have a pretty clear picture of how it looks in my head, you'll just have to teleport me to where it is now."

Babidi looked like he wanted to ask what Cell meant, but stopped to assess what was being asked of him. Cell appreciated that, since he didn't think he could have been more clear.

"I could, if you had a strong enough image of the place I suppose. Why? What planet do you have in mind?"

Cell smirked and looked toward the horizon, thinking back to the information Dr Gero's bugs had gathered of the only time the Namekian Dragon had been summoned to Earth.

"I believe it's called New Namek. Trust me, I know _exactly_ how it would look."


	7. Damage Control

**Chapter 7: Damage Control**

The clear sky and rolling hills were a pleasant sight for Trunks, though not a welcome one. He would much rather have been on Earth, bringing the fight to Cell. Even if he couldn't win, he could at least _hurt_ the bastard before he died.

"Do you two have a plan you want to share?" Trunks shouted, breaking up the whispering pair of gods who had brought him with them to this place. He didn't know where he was, and all the two of them had done since they got there was break off into a huddle and start discussing something that _had_ to be related to Cell

 _I wonder if Cell's destroyed the Earth already or if he's going to take his time absorbing the people. With that bastard I really can't tell._

The short one took a step from his partner and assumed a placating smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Trunks was still on guard, but he didn't know if he had to be yet. He couldn't feel either of their powers, but if they were strong enough to help him out against Cell then they wouldn't have run.

"I'm sorry Trunks. Kibito and I were just caught unprepared by Cell's betrayal." Trunks could see the discomfort in the being's eyes as he looked to the side. "We had thought that Babidi was the greater evil of the two, but apparently we were wrong."

"You thought Cell was the _lesser evil_?" Trunks asked, taken aback as he tried to imagine the kinds of things Babidi had done for the ( _what did Cell call him?)_ Supreme Kai to think that he was the better option. "Who even is Babidi? That big red guy was the strongest one there before Cell arrived."

"Babidi is Dabura's master, an evil wizard with plans to revive an ancient demon known as Majin Buu. I can assure you Trunks that however terrifying Cell may prove to be, Buu is in a whole other league."

The Supreme Kai paused for a breath and Kibito stepped forward, continuing from where he had left off. "We recruited Cell earlier today after one of Babidi's henchmen recruited two teenagers who had been destroying a city. He promised us help in tackling Babidi's forces in exchange for being allowed to deal with 17 and 18 personally. From what you said, he used them in order to reach his... Perfect form."

Before Trunks could _begin_ to pick at their story, the Supreme Kai started talking, "Yes Trunks, it seems as though you know a great deal more about Cell than we do. It's unfortunate that we didn't find you first, but its too late to change that. What we can do is prepare for the future, and how to defeat Cell. He has powers comparable to Dabura, and if he chooses to join Babidi then there will truly be no stopping evil from consuming the entire universe."

 _They're to blame for all this! If they had just waited then Cell wouldn't have known where to start looking for the androids and we wouldn't be in this situation!_

Trunks gaped at the two gods, unable to form words as he struggled with the impulse to strangle them. He knew that realistically they had no way of knowing how things would turn out but he couldn't ignore how they had enabled Cell in the first place.

 _They're lucky I'm not like my father. Okay, so things are bad, but if I act quickly I may be able to salvage things and get this whole saving the world thing back on track. Mom is still fine and the time machine is right outside her door, if I can go back I can get them both, come back here and then get Gohan's help from the past. If Cell and Dabura are working together that's the worst case scenario, but nothing he can't handle._

It hurt, admitting that he couldn't save his world all on his own, but he had felt that realisation long ago, when he had fought 17 and 18 for the first time since Gohan's death. Things hadn't ever looked bleaker, and taking a trip to the past was the only way he had to fix things. Coming back after that horrible time in the past he had thought that his new-found power would be enough to finally finish things, but it looked like he'd have to go get help from the past again.

He hadn't had much Saiyan pride to begin with, and what he'd picked up from his time with Vegeta wasn't so great that he was about to sacrifice his only shot at stopping two evils.

"It's… fine. You really had no way of knowing how Cell would turn out." Trunks said, avoiding eye contact with either god for now. "I'll fill you in on everything he can do, and you can do the same for Babidi and everyone he has on his team, but first you need to take me back to Earth. There's something -and someone- I need to pick up before I can do anything."

"Very well, but you'll have to act quickly." The Supreme Kai said, indicating Kibito to move over to Trunks. The mahogany skinned servant walked tensely to Trunks and grasped the top of the half-Saiyan's shoulder, then they disappeared from the world of the Kais.

As far as Trunks could tell the area they were on Earth wasn't anywhere special. The broken buildings looked like they could have come from any of the war zones created during the Androids rampage. He hoped that Kibito had brought them to West City, otherwise it would take longer than necessary to fly to Capsule Corp.

After a few seconds of searching Trunks noted with immense relief that his mother was still fine, and only a few kilometres away. His aura roared to life around him as he shot for the bunker his mother lived in with all his speed, trusting that the demigod behind him would either be able to keep up or just teleport to him when he got there.

 _Okay Trunks, let's keep this simple. I can't rescue everyone, but I can get mom and the time machine off the planet in case Cell blows it up. If something goes wrong she's the only one who could build another one, and with two gods on our side it shouldn't take as long either._

As the ruined facade of the Capsule Corp building came into view Trunks angled towards the ground, not bothering to reduce his speed until he was practically on top of the entrance. A ground shaking boom rocked the decaying walls as he made a running landing onto the dirt, frantically rushing for the doorway.

This was the opposite of how he'd wanted to make his return to the future. He'd hoped to surprise his mother and tell her all about their victory in the past, not only over the androids but Cell as well. Now, he'd just be delivering more bad news.

"Mom! There isn't much time! You have to-"

Trunks was cut off as an explosion went off in his face. It wasn't strong enough to do more than blow back his hair, but it did stun him into silence as his mind raced to interpret just what had happened.

"Trunks? Is that you?" Bulma's voice carried through the cloud of smoke obscuring Trunks' vision. "Gosh, you shouldn't give me a fright like that! With all the commotion outside, I thought for sure that you were one of the androids."

Trunks was amazed to see his mother in her typical work jumpsuit, wielding a rocket launcher. It was even more astonishing more him that even thinking that one of the androids had finally found them, she'd decided to go out fighting instead of trying to run or escape. On second thought, that was the kind of thing he'd expect her to do – even if it didn't make much sense. His mother was every bit the survivalist as his father was a warrior.

"It's good to see you too mom, but I'm in a hurry for a good reason. I can't explain right now, but you have to come with me. The Earth is in grave danger, from something much worse than the Androids."

"Worse than the Androids? I don't understand." Bulma said, frowning and lowering her voice along with her weapon.

Trunks darted forward and grabbed her by the shoulders, staring intently into her eyes.

"Like I said, I can't explain now but you need to follow me. I have a friend with me who can take us somewhere safe until I'm strong enough to return. It won't even take that long, not with the time machine."

"A friend? But..." Bulma hesitated for a moment, before steeling her gaze and returning Trunks' intense stare with a serious look of her own. "Okay, let's get go." She said with a nod.

Trunks smiled with relief before racing back up the stairs, dragging his mother behind him. When they breached into the outdoors Kibito was there, doing his usual routine of staring disdainfully at everything around him.

"Mom, this is Kibito. Kibito, this is my mother, Bulma."

"It is a pleasure to meet you my lady."

"You too big guy." Bulma said, sounding only mildly surprised at the oddly dressed figure standing stoically next to the time machine.

"Kibito, can you take objects with you when you teleport? Things like that vehicle." Trunks pointed to the time machine, doing his best to ignore the rising power levels off in the distance.

"I can, but it will be draining. I don't see why you'd need to take a vehicle with you to Kaioshinkai, my abilities more than suffice for transport, as you've witnessed."

"Hey buddy, that's not just any _vehicle_! It's a-" Bulma's yell was cut off as Trunks grabbed hold of her wrist, placing his hand on Kibito's shoulder at the same time.

"It's more important than it looks, now can we get out of here? Cell and that other guy aren't going to be fighting all day."

Kibito's face paled, yet he didn't say anything as he touched the side of the time machine before teleporting back to Kaioshinkai.

The three of them appeared at roughly the same spot they had vanished from, with Bulma immediately falling to the ground after they materialised.

"Hello. I am the Supreme Kai."

"Trunks..." She uttered, taken aback by the alien world she'd suddenly been transported to. The mysterious smiling man with a mohawk wasn't making it any easier on her suspension of disbelief. "You can start explaining now."

Trunks, looking to his side to make sure the time machine was there, gave a weak laugh and started rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Alright, I'm not too sure where to start. All three of you should pay attention to what I'm about to say though, it'll explain a lot about what's going on on Earth."

"I guess I should start at the very beginning, since I don't think you two," he glanced from the Supreme Kai to Kibito, "know about what happened on Earth before all this. It all started with Dr Gero, a scientist for the Red Ribbon Army..."

By the time Trunks was done summarising everything from Goku's demise to the heart virus to the conclusion of the Cell Games, two deities and a brilliant scientist had their jaws on the floor.

"That's all before I came back to the future and felt Dabura's energy. I went to fight him, and completely missed Cell going for the Androids."

Trunks shut his eyes and exhaled, fixing a glare onto the two gods when they reopened. "I understand you two had something to do with that."

The Supreme Kai looked down with guilty, as Kibito looked towards him uncertainly.

"Ah, yes. You see, we were unaware of the situation on Earth until we tracked Babidi to the planet. We needed someone who was familiar with the planet's affairs to help us find and defeat Babidi's forces. After Pui Pui recruited the Androids, we made contact with Cell. We brought him here and told him about our dilemma, while he gave us a few details about 17 and 18. He failed to mention his reasons for wanting to deal with them himself, though it is now painfully clear just what the case was. After we joined Trunks in his battle against Dabura, Cell abandoned us and absorbed both androids, just as he did in the past."

Silence settled them while each side struggled with the question of where the blame lay for the current fiasco.

"I know it looks pretty hopeless, but we do have a chance to turn things around thanks to you mom. I'll use the time machine to return to the past and train with Gohan, and see if I can achieve the same kind of power he used to stop Cell. If I can do that, then defeating Cell here should be a breeze." Trunks said with a smile.

"And if I can't, then Gohan can come here in my place and get the job done."

"That's a good plan Trunks, but there's a small issue I think you're forgetting." Bulma said, smiling back at Trunks as she continued. "The time machine can move in space, but not between planets. I don't even know how far this one is from Earth! I know Kibito brought you here in this time, but who's to say he'll be so kind in the past?"

"You're quite intelligent Bulma. It is indeed unlikely that our past selves would readily offer assistance to a mortal, even one as extraordinary as your son. However, with the details he knows of our existence as well as Babidi's, it should be sufficient to convince our past incarnations to interfere in the mortal world. Inform the Supreme Kai of the past that Babidi is alive and will find Majin Buu's pod on Earth, and he will gladly aide you in any way he can."

The Supreme Kai looked to the distance, where a vast tower of rock scarred by blast marks stood.

"And perhaps, there is a way to offer concrete proof as well."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you see that tower over there? It holds the Z-Sword, a legendary weapon which has been part of Kaioshinkai for generations. It is said to draw out the powers of any being who wields it, helping them surpass their natural limits. Cell tried drawing it out of its prison but failed, I'm sure you will prove to be far more worthy. If you arrive in the past with the Z-Sword, it will be absolute proof that you are a trustworthy ally of the Kaioshin."

"Well I do kinda miss my old sword," Trunks said, intrigued, "Okay, I'll give it a try."

"Hey! What about me?" Bulma yelled, startling the trio as they were about to depart. "What am I supposed to do while you're all out picking up swords and time travelling? At least in my lab I had work to do to pass the time; I don't see any buildings around here!"

The Supreme Kai and Kibito shared an uncomfortable glance before the deity smiled at Bulma. "I'm sure Kibito will find some way to keep you occupied while I take Trunks to the Z-Sword. Isn't that right Kibito?"

The heavenly attendant paled at the mention of his name and his gaze flitted from the Supreme Kai's prodding smile and Bulma's irritated scowl. He muffled a grunt of protest before giving a half bow, "Yes master. I will see to it that this human doesn't wander aimlessly."

"Human? I have a name you overgrown radish!"

Trunks wasn't able to stick around to listen to the rest of his mother's tirade, as the Supreme Kai somewhat hastily launched himself into the air, leaving Trunks to catch up before he got too much of a head start.

The sound of rushing wind was broken as the Supreme Kai spoke in a neutral tone, "That mother of yours has quite the fierce personality. I'm surprised you are gifted with such a calm demeanour."

"If you think she's bad you should see my father. I'm sure Kibito would have a black eye by now." Trunks half-smirked in amusement.

The Supreme Kai frowned, "I don't doubt that. From your story it sounds like he had a rather problematic temper."

"Yeah," Trunks agreed, thinking back to when Vegeta had attacked him for trying to stop Cell from absorbing #18. "And in this time he'd be a lot worse, since he didn't have any chance to mellow out. I'd still like to meet him one day though..."

The Supreme Kai remained silent, scrutinising Trunks intensely for a moment before looking forward to the Z-Sword's resting place and accelerating. The rest of the short flight passed in silence, until the short statured god landed gracefully onto the summit that held the legendary weapon of the Kais.

"This is it: The Z-Sword. I suggest transforming before trying to draw the sword; Cell was over your current power level when he tried earlier."

"Alright," Trunks said, hair rippling upwards in golden spikes as his eyes shifted green. "I'll give it a shot."

Carefully wrapping both hands over the hilt of the sword, Trunks gave an experimental tug to test the strength of the weapon and was surprised when the action gave no results. He gripped tighter and placed a leg next to the body of the sword then pushed down as he pulled as hard as he could.

 _It's unreal! How could a mere sword be so heavy?_

"I'll have to kick it up a notch! Supreme Kai, stand back!" Trunks yelled, his aura exploded from him in a massive golden wave as his eyes turned blank and his muscles swelled in size. His hair spread apart in longer spiked strands as well, and golden bolts struck through his aura.

With his Ascended Super Saiyan powers fully unlocked, Trunks renewed his efforts to pull out the Z-sword. Rocks were torn out and swirled around him through the air as he yelled and pulled back with all his strength, trying pushing every ounce of enhanced muscle to the limit in order to accomplish the task.

After five minutes of straining Trunks fell backwards, defeated. Tiny cracks surrounded the edge of the blade and where he'd been pressing down, but otherwise there was no sign of his efforts. He lay panting on his back, the golden colour leaving his aura as his hair fell back into purple bangs.

"You...weren't...kidding...that...thing...is...heavy."

The Supreme Kai shut his eyes and tried to hide his disappointment with an upward curl of the lip that failed to become a smile.

"Well I'm sure the last dozen generations of Kais would agree with you. Don't feel ashamed that you weren't able to withdraw it, the South Supreme Kai was the strongest of us and even he failed. You at least dented the ground it lies in, which puts you ahead of my predecessors I suppose."

"Thanks, but the consolation prize isn't worth much considering our plan relied pretty heavily on me having that sword. I guess I could try just talking to them. I'll be able to say more than the last time I brought a warning from the future at least." Trunks said with a sigh as he looked towards the direction they'd flown from, where the time machine stood.

"Hmm, yes, it looks like you'll have to rely more on the strength of your word than I'd have hoped. Still, there may be a way to prove you have some knowledge where it comes to the gods. Kibito can change your clothing to match our own – wearing the garb of a Kaioshin should prove that you're no ordinary mortal at any rate."

"Let's do that then, I'll leave for the past right afterwards. The more time we leave Cell to his own devices the harder it'll be to get rid of him. He's like a cockroach in more than just looks."

A short flight and explanation later, Kibito held out his hands and a yellow glow settled over Trunks, then the next thing he knew he was wearing different clothes. They appearing similar to the outfits worn by the Kaioshin but were coloured a deep blue with larger shoulder pads and white pants.

'Well, I definitely look the part. Geez, I really hope the Supreme Kai knows what he's talking about. This plan doesn't seem too secure... But it won't be the worst I've been in on.'

"Thanks Kibito, I just hope this works. I'll go into the time machine now." Trunks said. "I won't be more than two days, I promise."

He gently lifted off, getting into the cockpit of the time machine with practised ease. "Don't worry mom, when I get back Cell will be history." Trunks smiled and gave his mother a thumbs up. She looked nervous, but she was as far away from the danger as he could get her. This was already a much better situation than they'd had with the androids. And if he lost, there'd still be no way for Cell to get to her.

"Oh, and uh, try to get along with Kibito. He is the only way off this planet..."

His smile was genuinely amused as he watched false indignation overcome his mother's expression before the future faded away.

 _Kaioshinkai, Age 767_

He wasn't sure what reception he'd been expecting when he arrived in the past. Not a warm one sure, but he'd expected at least a little hospitality from how gentle the Supreme Kai acted when he didn't mention Majin Buu. This though, was more than a little frigid.

Not a few seconds after he'd appeared in the past and hopped out of the time machine than Kibito and the Supreme Kai had teleported in front of him. Kibito had twin blasts charging in his hands while the Supreme Kai had placed Trunks under some kind of telekinetic grip. He was sure he could break free if he transformed, but that wouldn't support the 'I come in peace' attitude he was trying to get across.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THE SACRED WORLD OF THE KAIS? SPEAK MORTAL!"

Trunks winced( _though he really should have expected Kibito would have a great shouting voice)_ ,looking into the eyes of the Supreme Kai to see if he'd get any leeway there. But the friendliness he was used to seeing was gone, replaced by a brick wall. Between the two of them Kibito actually looked friendlier - he Trunks could at least read.

 _Right... The last time someone unexpected came here he lost whole family. It's not too hard to see why he'd react so strongly the second time. Great, I'll have to play this even more delicately than I thought._

"You can both relax; I'm not your enemy!" He shot back, glaring at Kibito to try and make him back off. He didn't expect him too, but he'd like it more if he wasn't being aimed at before he'd even gotten to the unbelievable parts of his story. "My name is Trunks, and I'm from the future. You sent me back to help stop Majin Buu from being released by Babidi... and someone else."

That made them freeze. Emboldened by the response, he continued.

"Right now you have maybe ten years before Babidi figures out that Majin Buu's on Earth and goes to get him. I figure you can do a lot with that kind of lead. Bring Buu's pod to this planet, set an ambush, the choice is yours. I have a pretty good idea of where Babidi's ship would land too, if you want to read my mind to get the information."

With a flash Trunks transformed, flexing his muscles and shattering the psychic bonds holding him. He breathed out in relief, enjoying the feeling of his chest _not_ being squeezed.

"That solves the Buu issue here, but in my time we have another threat to deal with. It's name is Cell, and while it's probably weaker than Buu it's a lot smarter. I'm no match for it, but I know someone who is. If you take me to Earth so I can train with them for a while, I'll share all the details I know about Babidi."

"And what about Cell?" The Supreme Kai said, tone guarded. "Is he a threat in this time as well?"

"Nope. Cell was killed a few days ago by the friend I'm going to train with." Trunks said, returning to his base form when it became clear he wasn't going to be trapped again. "So, will you take me to Earth now or do I have to pass some test? Before you ask, I can't pull out the Z-Sword."

Trunks hid the urge to grin as shock spread over the two gods at his casual mention of their legendary sword. The future Supreme Kai had been right, if they hadn't been convinced before they sure looked it now.

"Kibito, I sense truth in his words." The Supreme Kai began, folding his hands behind his back. "If Babidi does locate Buu in the near future, we would be foolish not to intervene now while we have a chance. I think Trunks deserves our help as well, after all he's come a long way to save his world."

"If you say so master, though I still find it doubtful that our future counterparts would seek a mortal's aid to oppose Babidi." Kibito grumbled even as he paced towards Trunks and hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, I can hardly understand how dire the situation must have been if we involved a mortal in our affairs..." The Supreme Kai turned pensive for a moment before calmly walking towards Trunks. "I will accompany you to Earth. If Babidi is planning an attack it would be best to prepare the local defenders as best we can against the overwhelming might of his forces."

"Well, I don't know about overwhelming." Trunks said, thinking back to the clash of energies he'd sensed before departing Earth. "The only really strong guy on Babidi's side was Dabura, the rest I could take on no problem. The Earth in this timeline is much better defended than in my future, so I can't imagine he'd even be an issue."

Trunks' assured smirk was challenged only by the incredulous and sceptical looks from the deities flanking him before the familiar sensation of teleportation overtook him and they vanished from Kaioshinkai.

 _Kami's Lookout, Two Hours Later_

After leaving the world of the gods, things had gone a lot smoother than Trunks had imagined. They'd arrived on Kami's Lookout, right in one of Mr Popo's flower patches. Trunks had felt a bit embarrassed about that but the gardener had seemed more bashful about getting the boots of the Kaioshin dirty. Trunks had barely gotten through apologising to the genie before Dende had come out and the Supreme Kai had introduced himself. Dende had startled a lot when hearing how highly ranked on the celestial pecking order the Supreme Kai was but he'd composed himself quickly when he heard that they were there on business.

Dende and the Supreme Kai must've spoken telepathically because he caught onto the situation without Trunks having to explain anything. Then Piccolo had arrived on the Lookout like he had an appointment and they got straight into talking strategy. The Supreme Kai filled him in on everything Babidi and Buu were capable of, and Piccolo provided him with all the useful information they needed about Earth's defenders. Trunks had been feeling pretty left out up until that point, when Dende asked to see the location of Buu's burial site in his mind. He'd agreed, obviously, then the Supreme Kai and Kibito took off, planning to fly there to get a feel of the land rather than teleport.

Dende planned on summoning all the Earth's warriors to the Lookout to explain both Babidi's impeding threat and the ongoing Cell crisis in his timeline. They'd agreed to call everyone but Vegeta. Piccolo had cited that they couldn't be sure if Vegeta would sabotage their efforts for the sake of fighting Buu. That had put Trunks in an awkward position as he both wanted to defend his father -who he was sure had learned his lesson after Perfect Cell had come to pass- and quietly agreeing because he couldn't be sure to how Vegeta'd really react.

"So, what do we tell my father? He's going to want to know why everyone with a high power level was called up here but him." Trunks asked. Piccolo had made a good point but it still felt wrong to keep his father out of the loop. After the year in the time chamber and the attack his father had launched against the resurrected Cell, Trunks felt that he understood his father's motivations well enough to feel bad about betraying his trustworthiness like this.

"I doubt he'd care even if he stopped training long enough to notice. Vegeta may fight with us but I doubt that he truly considers himself one of us and not just allies of convenience. If he does ask tell him about wanting Gohan's help to face Cell. His pride may be wounded, but he'll understand that it's not a battle he can help with."

 _Blunt as always, aren't you Piccolo._ Trunks thought, averting his gaze to the other Namekian. Dende was looking off the edge of the Lookout, no doubt contacting everyone needed. Trunks didn't know enough about telepathy to judge but it seemed like there should be a faster way to contact people than one at a time.

"Okay, Gohan's on his way. It took some persuading but his mom's fine with him meeting up with you Trunks. I don't think he told her about training with you... If you use the time chamber you should try and keep it down to a few hours."

Trunks nodded, excited at the chance to see Gohan again. It was weird that their ages were basically reversed in this timeline, yet he still kept picturing Gohan as he'd been in the future whenever he thought about him. Even after the boy had vanquished Cell he still hadn't separated the two Gohans completely in his mind.

"I'll try my best, but I plan on taking all the time I need on this one. I don't just want to be able to beat Cell as he is now; I want to be able to win even if he recovers from near death again."

The horrific feeling of Cell's death beam blowing through his chest stole over him, along with the briefest of glimpses he'd had of the monster's new electrified aura. His gaze hardened and he clenched his fists.

"That shouldn't be impossible with a year. Think about it, Gohan unlocked this new form a few days ago and he hasn't even _begun_ to explore just how powerful it can get. Look at the difference between when he and Goku went into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and when they came out. Now imagine that kind of difference with his unlocked power. If the improvement is even a _tenth_ as good as that, I'll have no problem putting Cell down. Even if he comes back **twice**."

Trunks chuckled humourlessly, looking at Piccolo with a soft smile.

"And if it turns out Gohan's the only one who can use that form... Well, I'll cross that bridge if it comes to that. I mean, I don't want Gohan to have to fight in my timeline but if there's no other way..."

"You'll find a way that doesn't leave Gohan stranded in another time with no way back." Piccolo said, making Trunks jolt at the conviction in his voice.

Before their 'conversation' could go any further, a flare of ki at the edge of the Lookout alerted them both to the first of their expected arrivals. To Trunks' relief, it was Krillin. The bald human may not have been the strongest of them but he had proven himself to have the most heart by his dealings with Eighteen -although Trunks strongly disagreed with the amount of mercy the android had been shown- and most importantly for now, he had a good sense of humour to counteract Piccolo's stern attitude.

"Hey Trunks! I didn't expect to see you back so soon." Krillin beamed, landing a short distance away from Trunks and walking casually up to him. "Shouldn't you be at Bulma's right now?"

"Good to see you too Krillin! I, uh, really didn't have the time." Trunks said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I kinda got dropped off here and it seemed pretty pointless to fly there and back when time's of the essence y'know?"

"Yeah, I get ya, but I don't think Bulma'll find it the same way." Krillin said in a sagely tone before addressing Piccolo. "So, what's up? Dende said you had something important to tell us?"

"I'll wait for everyone to get here. I don't want to have to repeat myself."

As it happened, they didn't have to wait long. Tien and Yamcha arrived at about the same time, with Gohan following on their heels. Yamcha wore yellow suit pants with a white shirt, while Tien had on the same green gi as always. To Trunks' surprise Gohan wasn't wearing the Piccolo inspired clothes he'd had on for the Cell Games or a copy of Goku's gi like he'd done in the future. Instead he had on a high collared white long sleeved jacket and plain black pants, with short black shoes that left the white socks plainly visible.

It didn't look like something you'd wear for a training session.

They'd all gathered into a sort of semi-circle with an opening for Dende, who'd left the edge of the Lookout after Gohan had arrived. They'd exchanged greetings of course, but most of them were curious about why Trunks was back so soon. Yamcha had been the one to ask if it was to throw a party for destroying the androids in his time, and he'd really had no better answer for that than 'no'.

"Hello everyone. I'm sorry to call on all of you so unexpectedly, but something has come up that not only affects the future, but our present as well."

"What, is it more androids?" asked Yamcha, "After Cell I think I've had about all I take of those."

Trunks started getting his tale in order for what felt like the upteenth time, only to be interrupted by Piccolo speaking first.

"Androids aren't our problem this time, we have a sorcerer to deal with. A wizard named Babibi is coming to this planet at some point in the future to revive an ancient demon called Majin Buu. According to the Supreme Kai, this demon is far stronger than Cell ever was."

Piccolo paused, sounding somewhat sceptical at the last part before continuing.

"Luckily for us, Trunks gave us a warning. The Supreme Kai and his assistant are retrieving Buu as we speak and taking it back to their world. When Babidi gets here, even if he succeeds in beating us, it'll be for nothing."

"Great!" Krillin exclaimed, beaming and placing his hands behind his head, "So what's the worry? It sounds like it'll be a total cakewalk."

"Babidi's not coming alone. Aside from a small army of goons he has fighters with him that are known as the strongest in the universe," Piccolo smirked, looking to Gohan for a moment, "but that's not saying much. As far as we know the strongest one he has on his side is as strong as Cell was in his perfect form."

While there was no visible way to tell, the focus was on Gohan after those words. Piccolo might have said it in a way that made it sound like a non-issue, but the only one who was capable of beating that level of power was Gohan. They all knew that even with a who-knows how many years head start there was a good chance that they'd still fall short of the levels of strength that Cell and Gohan had shown during the Cell Games.

"This demon – Dabura- can't regenerate, and his only unique skill is being able to turn people to stone by spitting on them. So if you avoid that it should be an easy matter of taking him down."

"So we know who Gohan will be fighting when Babidi gets here." Tien said, smiling at Gohan when the young Saiyan looked at him, "What about the rest of us?"

"Pui Pui and Yakon are the next strongest on Babidi's side. Pui Pui is nothing special, just a grunt with a lot of power from what I can tell but Yakon is special." Piccolo frowned, trying to properly recall the information he'd gotten from the Supreme Kai, "His species feeds on light energy, I'm not sure if it makes them stronger in battle or not; but it's not a chance I'm willing to take. The Supreme Kai didn't think any Super Saiyans should be fighting him in case he uses them to power up. That's where we come in."

"Speaking of Super Saiyans, where's Vegeta? This seems like the kind of thing he'd be down for – especially since you're here Trunks." asked Yamcha.

"Vegeta's not here because I didn't want to risk him trying to bring Buu back himself, or decide to fight Yakon anyway. I'll tell him what he needs to know later."

The look that Piccolo sent Trunks next made him realise that it was officially his turn to speak. He would have felt a little unsure about how to proceed but Piccolo had paved things pretty smoothly for him.

"It may not seem like it, but I didn't come back to warn you guys about Majin Buu. That was more of a happy coincidence actually." Trunks said, "The reason I'm here is because Babidi's efforts to revive Buu ended up allowing Cell to achieve his perfect form. Mom and I managed to escape Earth thanks to the Supreme Kai's help but they're all still on the loose and there's no telling how much damage has been done already."

"Trunks," Gohan raised his voice questioningly, "You and Piccolo mentioned the Supreme Kai a lot, who is he? I know my dad trained with King Kai; is he like him?"

"The Supreme Kai is the highest authority in the universe, above the lesser kais. There were more but Buu killed and absorbed them." Piccolo interjected.

That seemed to answer Gohan's question well enough, and since there weren't any follow ups Trunks went on as if he hadn't been stopped.

"I came back in time to train with you Gohan. I want to be able to ascend beyond a Super Saiyan, the same way you did against Cell. If we spend a day in the time chamber I know that by the time we get out, I'll be more than strong enough to annihilate Cell... And Majin Buu if I have to!"

Gohan looked taken aback, and for a moment Trunks feared that he'd have to go explain to Chi-Chi that he wanted to go on a camping trip with him or something (because he didn't think that telling the truth would be convienent to his timing needs... and it wouldn't feel right making Dende the bearer of bad news). But then Gohan smiled and nodded, looking determined.

"You can count on me Trunks. I'm not sure if I can train you as well as my dad would've, but I'll try my best." Gohan declared, "Piccolo, can you change my clothes into something more like what dad wore. I didn't think I'd be training today."

"Sure thing kid." Piccolo said with a grin, aiming his hand at Gohan. A beam of light later and Gohan was wearing a training Gi nearly identical to Goku's, missing only the kanji on the chest.

"Dende, can you tell my mom that I'll be home late?" Seeing the frightened look on Dende's face, Gohan smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry about it, mom'll understand that it's for a good reason."

He then started walking towards the Lookout's interior, which lead to Trunks following him.

"Not that it'll save him from being yelled at a bit first." Gohan whispered to Trunks, which got a laugh out of him and drew an audible chuckle from Piccolo (which likely meant Dende had heard it too and was looking greener than normal).

The entry into the Hyberbolic Time Chamber, once an intimidating affair for both of the Saiyans, passed without much hesitance this time. It was impossible to shake off the feeling of loneliness spawned from looking out into the vast white plains of nothing, but it was weaker now.

"This won't be easy." Gohan said, in a tone more serious than Trunks had expected given the light heartedness he'd displayed outside. "I don't know if I can bring out of you the same kind of power I have. It's not like going Super Saiyan for the first time. There's no wall to break through, it's more like... letting go."

Gohan transformed, the transition happening in the blink of an eye.

"I've always been able to draw out great power when I get mad, first against the Saiyans, then Frieza and finally with Cell. Against Cell I stopped being afraid of what would happen if I gave in to my anger, because I knew that Cell deserved it."

While his words were full of anger, not a single sign of that was reflected in his aura. No aura appeared, no shock waves came off him, not even a ripple in his hair. It was all under control.

"Dad died and Cell came back because I couldn't regain control soon enough. If you stop holding back and ascend, you'll still need to learn control. Even if you became stronger, Cell could still win if you get overconfident."

Trunks was floored by the knowledge coming from the pre-teen Saiyan, who was sounding far more like his deceased counterpart than he should have, but he nodded sternly all the same.

"I won't let you down. Cell's evil will be ended in my timeline, I swear it."

"Good." Gohan smiled, "You should learn how to get the most out of the basic Super Saiyan form before you try and go further. It's pretty easy, just stay transformed for as long you can."

Trunks' transformation wasn't as smooth as Gohan's, sending out small winds and covering him with a bright yellow aura. He'd never expected to feel _embarrassed_ after going Super Saiyan, yet he did after witnessing how little flash accompanied Gohan's transformation.

"You trained with Vegeta, I get it if you feel like you have to push yourself," said Gohan, "but the whole point of this training is to relax. Don't overexert yourself okay?"

"Okay," Trunks accepted, and though the overall tone so far had been serious he was unable to stop his lip from curling into a smile, "I've gotta say, you training me like this is giving me serious deja vu. You're shorter now, but it feels just like when you'd train me in the past... future, I mean."

Gohan grinned back at him and lifted off the ground, "C'mon, we're not going to sit around all day! We'll do some light sparring, and maybe you can fill me in on exactly what happened after you got back to the future."

Trunks took off after Gohan, eager to begin his year of training. It wasn't just about defeating Cell either, now that he was here with Gohan he was curious to see how much he could improve in a year's time. The power Gohan had used to toy with Cell was unbelievable, he couldn't imagine ever surpassing that.

Fortunately, he wasn't leaving it up to his imagination.

* * *

 _AN: You can all thank Trunkssan776 for this update. For while my microbiology report may be non-existent, this chapter isn't. The second half that was going to focus on everyone else and maybe even the villains while Gohan and Trunks train will be chapter 8 I really wish I'd nailed the Z-Fighter interaction better, but I'm content with what I have. You write with the pen you're given I guess._

 _Also, I'm getting sick of typing the Supreme Kai. The surprise twist next chapter is that he reintroduced himself as Shin and Dende told everyone._


	8. Superiority

**Chapter 8: Superiority**

' _So this is Namek.'_

Rolling fields of lush blue grass, clear green skies, no sign of civilisation but the dark circle embedded into the ground from Babidi's magic. By just about every metric there was the planet was a paradise of natural splendour. Cell didn't care enough to deliver his own judgement, but it was in a better state than the Earth had been when he'd left. Without any means of fixing the damage caused by 17 and 18 even areas far from urban settlements were sliding into desolation. The androids only paid enough attention to their attacks to not destroy the planet, other than that the extent of the damage caused was quite boundless. The worst of it came from the acts of resistance over the years. Battles with Gohan tended to leave much worse scars behind than when the twins were left to their own devices.

Cell dropped the energy gathering device on the ground, stepping over it without a look back as he began scanning the planet for grouped ki signatures. Draining the Namekian population of energy was only plan B after all, he didn't need to arrive among them with something that would arouse suspicions so easily. Frieza had failed in his attempts to get the Namekians to help him find the dragon balls and that made things drag on for much longer than they needed to. By no means did he need help finding the dragon balls on his own, it would just be easier if he didn't have to worry about the Namekians getting in his way. He already had two deities and one Super Saiyan determined to stop him, he didn't need any additional headaches.

' _The Nameks weren't even a bump in the road for Frieza's top soldiers, they couldn't possibly amount to even a pebble when faced with me.'_

That was true when speaking of strength, but there were other ways that the Namekians might have adapted in the years since their contact with Frieza. The near genocide of their people wasn't something they'd just forget, it was the kind of experience that lead to the creation of new contingencies to prevent it from happening twice. And seeing how they were talented enough magicians to create wish granting dragons, there was no telling what they might have prepared in case of the second coming of Frieza – or someone far worse.

The highest ki on the planet was also near the centre of the largest collection of ki, which was perfect for Cell's goal. Strong warriors to protect the leader was standard practice, and where there was a Nail there would be a Guru equivalent.

He took off in the direction of the ki, ignoring the landscape blurring underneath him for the thoughts of what wish he'd make to the dragon. He'd promised Babidi that he would wish for the revival of Majin Buu, but the toad was world's away and keeping his word to him was below Cell's regard. Now that he was a few steps away from making a wish of his own he was finding that immortality looked quite attractive as an option. If it was good enough for Frieza...

Normally he wouldn't consider wishing for immortality, but nearly dying in quick succession was a good reminder that he not only possessed the strengths of his progenitors, but their weaknesses as well. He was as mortal as any other being, and for the perfect being that just would not do.

The Namekian village came into view after a few minutes of flying. The buildings were larger and closer together than they had been on the original world, but other than that he may as well have been rifling through Frieza's recollections. Just descending in front of the power level he had sensed gave him a sense of deja vu that teased a smile from his lips.

"What is that thing?"

"It looks like one of the Earthlings."

"No, it's face, it's like Frieza!"

' _Confusion and a small amount of terror._ _Humans and Namekians are more alike than they realise.'_

"Hello, my name is Cell." he said, smiling and projecting Piccolo's aspect of his ki as much as he could, "Am I correct that the leader of your people lives here?"

Silence descended on the group. A single Namekian wearing an orange sleeveless jacket and white training pants stepped out from the large central building which dominated the village.

"You are. This is the home of Elder Mori, guardian of Namek." The Namekian said, stopping across from Cell and staring him down. Which would have worked better if Cell had both been shorter, and weaker than the warrior. "What is your purpose for seeking him out?"

"My reasons are my own until he steps out from that shell and we can discuss it face to face." Cell delighted in the flicker of surprise that passed through the Namekian's eyes. Sensing ki was a rare ability in the universe, one they had been fortunate their enemy had not possessed the last time. "Yes, I can sense energy so he might as well come out now. I don't deal with lackeys."

He didn't deal with _anyone._ But that was something they'd find out sooner than they'd like.

"You're awfully bold, stranger. Don't you know what happened to the last invader who attacked us?"

White and emerald energy burst up around the Namekian, burning brightly for a moment before shimmering close to his skin. It was an impressive measure of power for a Namekian to have, more than Piccolo had had for most of his life.

"I'm as far beyond Frieza as Frieza was beyond you." Cell dropped his smile, looking down on the Namekian with cold eyes, "You shouldn't power up so brazenly, I just might take it as a challenge."

A few beads of sweat formed on the Namekian's brow as he grit his teeth and stared at Cell, aura picking up in intensity. It was a boring display, and as soon as the fool struck Cell would cut him down to size to set an example. He'd come to the village intending to make a good impression but if the slugs couldn't be civil then he saw no reason why he should act so either,

"Stop!"

A Namekian who looked like almost the opposite of the warrior cried out as he exited the building the warrior had come from. He was short and stocky, wearing an open red vest with a white scarf and holding a staff taller than he was in his right hand.

"Stand down Cargo, it is clear that this is the same creature whose power we sensed from Earth."

"The power of my Perfect form reached this far? Hmm, just when I thought Dr Gero couldn't have been more brilliant."

Mori kept a tight grip on his staff as Cargo bowed out of the potential fight with Cell. Cell didn't have a good way of judging the old Namekian on his own, but he did look familiar. He must have been one of the elders Frieza had slaughtered the first time round.

"You're energy is dark and vile, nearly as bad as that of Frieza. Yet you are clearly more powerful than the tyrant ever was." Mori observed, narrowing his eyes out of disgust for the tainted ki he perceived. "You also come from Earth, a world home to the greatest defenders one could hope for. Tell me Cell, did you kill those noble heroes before making your way to us."

' _This old fool saw right through my disguised ki. Impressive! Perhaps I should have tried Goku's energy instead... It looks like I came to the right place. He has to be the creator of the Dragon Balls here.'_

"Sadly no, everyone you're thinking of died long before I was born. I just," Cell looked up wistfully, "...cleaned up what was left. I am the closest to their legacy left in this world; so if you have any goodwill towards them I'd be more than happy to accept."

"Oh? And what would you like from us? I'm afraid we Namekians are a simple people without much in the way of riches. You are free to live among us if you'd like, we are always welcome to visitors who seek _peace_."

Cell smirked, catching the bard in Mori's voice as it was launched. Well playtime was over. The bone he'd thrown them clearly wasn't up to their tastes.

"Believe me, if you do as I say there will be no reason to get violent. All I want are the Dragon Balls. You can collect them faster than I can, and if you start now you'll be done before I get bored."

Mori didn't give any reaction to Cell's demand, though Cargo and the few warriors who had rallied with him immediately entered a martial stance. Cell ignored them, focusing his attention on the only powerful one there.

"As I expected. It is all you devils want, to abuse the power of the dragon for your own selfish ends. You are aware of Frieza, so you know that the Namekian people will not willingly enable your evil!" shouted Mori, lapsing into an angry silence as he caught his breath.

"That's a shame. This would go a lot smoother if you just listened to your heads for once." Cell tutted, placing his hands on his hips to complete the image of disapproval. "If you insist on sticking so heavily to the same old routine, then this is the part where your _warriors_ try to be relevant then get beaten like baby seals."

"... No, not this time." Mori sighed, shutting his eyes, "We will not help you gather the Dragon Balls, but we will not impede your progress in any way."

"-Elder!"

"You can't-"

"This is-"

"It's alright my children, this is the decision I have taken. Our people only survived thanks to the efforts of the Earthlings before, we cannot afford to lose any lives in vain this time." Mori said, looking up to address Cell. "I have contacted the rest of the planet telepathically, they won't interfere with you."

Cell grinned.

"I don't know what you're playing at Mori, but it suits me just fine. If there's a Dragon Ball here hand it over."

Mori didn't move, a different Namekian who looked to be the same age as Cargo stepped out from the hall with the three starred Namekian dragon ball held in both hands. He set it down in front of Cell, eyeing him darkly before retreating behind Mori.

"One down, six to go." Cell uttered, admiring his reflection in the amber surface of the dragon ball. The power of the eternal dragons was something that made even him feel awe. The only flaw in their design was that they were tied to weaklings like Kami and Mori. If he made a dragon of his own it would far outshine the rest with its immaculateness!

"You have to be up to something, or you wouldn't have backed down so quickly. The next step of your plan must have counted on me leaving to find the rest of these and leaving you unobserved. I'm afraid this isn't your game we're playing, it's mine."

Cell's wings shot apart and he broadened his stance. The vestigial stinger in his back opened and six blue orbs shot out, landing in the grass behind Cell covered in light green fluid. The Namekians nearby had their jaws drop at seeing a thoroughly corrupted version of their birthings. Not that Cell noticed.

"Look at them, aren't they handsome? They may be small but they have all my abilities."

Cell turned around to face his offspring, who had just unfolded from their balled up forms. The six of them were perfect recreations of Cell, if miniaturised and turned blue. They were giggling and cackling as they looked over the Nameks with clear menace in their eyes.

"Okay Juniors, listen up. Daddy needs you to get him some Dragon Balls! There are six of them left and they all look like the one behind me. Split up and bring me one each, got it?"

The juniors nodded and said their affirmations in squeaky high pitched voices before powering up with mock Super Saiyan auras and blasting off into the air in one column before the individuals took off in different directions.

Mori had his eyes wide, staring up in shock as Cell turned back to him with a smug look on his face.

"Not what you were expecting?"

 ** _Trunks, Room of Spirit and Time – 7 months_**

Trunks collapsed onto his knees, sweat dripping onto the clear white floor of the time chamber. He'd been sparring with Gohan for the past two hours, which didn't _sound_ long but when every time he was hit it felt like he was having a heart attack.

"Come on Trunks, get back up! I know you can fight for longer than this."

His teeth ground together as he heard Gohan's voice before the boy materialised in front of him, aura as powerful as it had been when he had first transformed hours ago. Their training had benefited Gohan a lot more than him. In the time it had taken him to unlock the full power of the Super Saiyan form, Gohan had made great progress in maintaining and controlling the ascended form.

His personality still changed though, and that made it a bit hard to train with him in the form. It had been Trunks' idea to try sparring against him at full power to see if that would accelerate his ability to reach the form but it hadn't. Nothing had.

Trying to undergo the transformation through sheer mental effort did nothing, the same as trying to power up past a certain point just left him feeling drained. Being encouraged to picture all the people Cell would hurt if he didn't ascend didn't work either, it brought back memories of when Gohan had tried the same tactic to get him to go Super Saiyan in the first place. Gohan had tried forcing him into a life or death situation to get him to ascend – he'd ended up needing to lie in bed for a week afterwards but hadn't felt even the hint of a higher level.

Since ascending wasn't working out, he was trying to reach a high enough level of strength through Super Saiyan to be able to beat Cell. Gohan hadn't shot down the idea, but he knew that the chances that plan succeeded were slim at best. So far he wasn't even as strong as Gohan had been when he'd first fought Cell.

"Yeah, just, give me a minute."

The frantic hum of a ki blast forming reached his ears, and he threw himself backwards. Without using any ki in the action he didn't get far, and Gohan's blast hit him in the chest while he was still skidding back over the ground. A burst of heat and concussive force shot Trunks into the sky, flames trailing off of his jacket.

A moment later Gohan was aiming down at Trunks with his left hand, an invisible energy burst primed to fire as soon as the other Saiyan got close enough.

Trunks' listless form sprang to life before Gohan could make his attack, powering up beyond Super Saiyan into the Ultra form and bringing both hands together over his chest. Before he could begin to gather energy for the attack, Gohan vanished.

His muscles deflated as he fell back to Super Saiyan, immediately feeling the stamina drain from using the bulky form combined with his already mounting exhaustion. It was _stupid_ to try and use that form to match the ascended form, but he'd thought that playing dead would let him catch Gohan off guard. Apparently the speed gap was wider than he thought.

"Good move, I think that would work on Cell." Gohan's voice came from behind Trunks. Trunks turned and saw Gohan smiling up at him – which was not a look he trusted coming from Gohan like this. The pre-teen Saiyan's spiked hair lowered by degrees and the electricity left his aura.

"What are you doing?" Trunks frowned, "We aren't done training yet."

"It's no fun running circles around you, and it's better training for us both if we're on the same level. I'm a little bit ahead of you too, so you can still try pushing your limits that way."

He accepted Gohan's explanation, but he didn't buy that that was all there was to it. Why change things now, when they were in the thick of it? They'd spent days training like this and while he hardly managed to get an attack in at all he always felt like he improved in some way from taking on a superior opponent.

"Okay, but don't pull your trump card out when I'm close to beating you. That wouldn't be fair."

Trunks launched himself at Gohan, swinging his arm and feeling it collide with Gohan's guard.

"I won't need to. My dad taught me how to win _fairly._ "

Trunks' knee swung up to attack, but Gohan used it as a springboard to leap over Trunks' head and aim a kick at his back, which was deflected when Trunks unleashed an explosive wave to throw him back. Before Gohan could recover Trunks spread his arms, quickly collecting bright yellow ki in his hands.

"Finish Buster!"

Trunks brought his arms together and fired the destructive beam at Gohan, who spun away from it and cupped his hands at his side as he did so. Seconds later blue light surged and he threw his arms forward like a cannon.

"Kamehameha!"

Trunks had no time to form a blast to counter it and was too close to dodge all of the Kamehameha, so he crossed his arms in front of himself and hoped to weather the brunt of the blast. As the Kamehameha slammed into his forearms it burned away what was left of his sleeves but failed to force him back or do any other damage. Trunks grinned and lowered his guard, just in time to see Gohan charging at him with a punch aimed at his face.

Rather than dodge he countered it with one of his own, and a shockwave tore through the sky before the two of them were sent tumbling back. They recovered at the same time and flew at each other, moving at speeds beyond what the eye could see as they clashed in the air, heading deeper and deeper into the time warped dimension.

As they fought the difference in power between the two became more and more pronounced as each strike landed started adding up. Initially the two had been able to exchange blow for blow almost exactly, but slowly Trunks found it harder to lay a hand on Gohan while he was left taking double the punishment. His knowledge of Gohan's fighting style was to thank for the balance between them existing for as long as it had, but it couldn't keep up his as he started slowing down and losing energy.

It wasn't the first time this had happened, but unlike the others, Trunks had a contingency. Something to really catch Gohan by surprise. He hadn't wanted to waste it when the power gap between them was simply insurmountable but now that they were closely matched he could try it out without it automatically failing.

' _Here we go!'_

Trunks left an after-image behind to fool Gohan to buy time to set up his attack. Ignoring the tiredness throughout his body he raised his arms up to his sides, forcing ki to start pumping into his hands. Gohan flew through the after-image, unable to arrest the momentum from his attack. When he relocated Trunks, his attack was mostly charged up, golden electrical arcs sparking off from his hands. When they made eye contact Trunks felt nervous, this was the part where his attack had the highest chance to fail. If Gohan transformed or flew out of range then he'd have wasted a huge chunk of energy – and if he made him attack before it was ready then all he'd have was a slightly improved Finish Buster.

To his relief Gohan entered the stance he'd become familiar with by now, and started forming the Kamehameha. He was taking his time with it too, which Trunks was grateful for. He didn't want the first time he tried out this attack to fail from lack of preparation.

"Ka...me...ha..."

Trunks didn't say anything, all his concentration going towards channelling his energy just the way he wanted it. It wasn't enough to just gather energy, he had to _amplify_ it. Concentrating it like he was doing was eating up more of his reserves than he'd thought it would. He hadn't planned on it becoming an all or nothing gambit, but it looked like he didn't have a choice.

"Me..."

' _This is it. Alright Gohan, time to show you you're not the only one who learned something from their father!'_

He swung his arms together, forming a pure golden sphere around him as he cried out,

"Final-"

He was so focused on his own ki that he almost missed Gohan's spike, right before the boy disappeared from his sight. A split-second later Gohan reappeared in front of him, arms starting to thrust forward as he screamed the final syllable of his attack.

"HA!"

"-FLASH!"

A beacon of blue light appeared briefly before it was swept up by the all encompassing wave of shining energy from the Final Flash. The blast was so intense that it robbed Trunks of all his senses as it poured out from his hands, taking all his energy with it as it shot into the infinite distance of the white void like a golden comet.

"Ha... it worked." he said, grinning and feeling relief spread through his arms as they dropped down. Involuntarily he started drifting downwards, aura billowing off of him like a dying fire.

It took him longer than it should have to notice that he couldn't sense Gohan any more.

"Gohan... oh no!"

He raced forward at a speed faster than his tired body should have allowed, scanning the luminescent landscape for any sign of Gohan's body. Trunks was forcing himself not to let panic overwhelm him, though it was impossible to hide the dread burrowed in the pit of his stomach from himself.

' _Gohan might be unconscious, or just really far away. That's why I haven't picked up his energy yet... That blast can't have been strong enough to kill him!'_

 _ **Yes it was**_

He dismissed that thought and picked up speed, closing in with the ground as he got further along the path the Final Flash had traced. He didn't see any signs of Gohan, not bits of clothes, blood... ashes. His desperation was the only thing keeping him in flight when he should have been completely drained minutes ago

A different colour caught his eye, red spots standing out from the uniform white his eyes had gotten used to. Seconds later the red started adding up, leading to a red patch surrounding still body.

"Gohan!" Trunks shouted, feet touching the ground and taking off into a run towards his friend. He knelt down next to the boy and started checking for signs of life. To his immense relief after he turned Gohan onto his back he was able to see that he was still breathing, though he appeared to be in great pain even when asleep. His shirt was hanging on in rags, and his pants were non-existent below the knee. While he was covered in burns and scabs, there weren't any large bleeding wounds to worry about.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here!" he said, trying to get his arms around Gohan as gently as he could. He didn't know how far they were from the rooms but he'd make the trip on foot if he had to. This was _Gohan._ He wasn't going to let him die because he'd gotten careless _again_!

He managed to lift Gohan's limp body off the ground when the atmosphere took a sudden turn. The sky turned red, and he heard an immense rumble in the distance.

' _No, not now damn it!'_

Trunks made a very shaky take-off, speeding away from the disaster he knew would be coming as fast as he possibly could. In his state that didn't do much, and before he knew it he was bowled over by a wave of flame that dashed him back to the ground and sent Gohan tumbling helplessly away from him.

Trunks knew what these were. His first time training in here his father would withstand the fire-storms to build his strength, and go deeper after ones with more intensity when his strength grew. But they couldn't have been that far in!

He forced his eyes open and saw Gohan lying face down, arm twisted behind his back. The wave of heat had passed, but the sky was turning red again and he was struggling just to get to his knees.

' _It's just like before...'_

He was no longer in the time chamber waiting for a disaster to sweep over them. He was in the watery ruins of a city, staring at his mentor's corpse.

' _NO! I won't let that happen!'_

Somehow Trunks stood up. Somehow he shuffled to Gohan, picked him up while shaking like a leaf, and began dragging the both of them towards safety. He tried to fly but after a few seconds barely above the ground he ended up back on his feet.

Like before he didn't make it far before calamity struck. Flames erupted all around him, a blistering inferno with a demonic howl that his own pained scream was lost in. This time he didn't let go of Gohan, even when he fell to his knees once the flames faded.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up," he muttered, definitely more to himself than Gohan's pained face, "but I'll get you out of here, I promise."

Before he'd even attempted to get back up he was frozen solid. Even inside the block of ice he managed to keep enough autonomy to widen his eyes in shock at the radical shift in temperature. This wasn't the first time this had happened yet after ascending past Super Saiyan it had taken hardly any effort to break out. Remembering that didn't help him, his ki reserves had been tapping out before being hit by two fire-storms.

He forced as much energy as he could to the surface, trying to create one more explosive wave. The ice encompassing him glowed yellow, cracks started forming -

Then Trunks' hair lost its golden sheen and he truly hit rock bottom.

At that moment the only thing keeping Trunks from slipping away was the feel of Gohan's body in his arms, the lingering warmth touching his arms and the sight of what he'd be failing if he allowed himself to expire.

It was almost too cold to think but miraculously he managed. It wasn't anything comforting that ran through his mind but instead the worst moments of his life.

 _Gohan face down in muddy water._

 _17 and 18 gloating over him._

 _Cell blasting a hole through his chest._

 _Gohan dying because he got carried away._

They repeated one after the other, blurring together into one never ending nightmare as he felt his life fade away. The images went by so quickly that in the end all he saw were faces. Gohan, the Androids, Cell, Gohan's younger self. Eventually only two were left that somehow become one.

 _Gohan dead because of **his** mistake._

 _ **NOOOOO!**_

 _ **NEVER AGAIN!**_

The power that awakened in Trunks didn't do so slowly. His energy exploded with the force of a supernova, vaporising the ice into superheated steam particles and beating down the walls of flame that had been building up nearby. A golden sun was born in the depths of the time chamber, and it only faded once Trunks became aware enough of himself to stop screaming.

Lightning cascaded through his aura and his muscles were thick with renewed vigour, but he didn't pay any notice to that. His first act was to transfer his energy to Gohan to help stabilise him after their ordeal. His second was crossing the space to the entrance in record time.

 ** _-DBZ-_**

When Trunks woke up the first thing he did was panic. The last thing he remembered was being trapped and waiting to die with Gohan, with only a hazy recollection of what had come next.

' _Gohan!'_

His head whirled to the side, and to his relief he saw that his friend was dozing off peacefully, the only thing in any way alarming the messiness of his blanket.

' _Must have had a rough night. I guess I did too.'_

He fell back onto his pillow and let out a sigh of relief. Whatever had happened in the end, everything had worked out fine – better than he expected when he woke up. Gohan had all of his arms, which was a relief. You couldn't trust nightmares after all.

' _But how did I get us back here? I was totally spent, I couldn't even stay transformed. Did I make it to the next level?'_ Trunks furrowed his brow, doing his best to call on his fragmented memories of the day before. Trying to recall anything past being frozen was like trying to swat a fly with a hammer. It just wasn't connecting.

In the end he gave up and settled for being glad that they'd made it out alive. While he didn't know _how_ that wasn't a good reason to overlook the positives. Maybe they needed the rest. Next time he'd practice the Final Flash to try and control its power output. He was just as bad as his father had been against Cell, and he knew that he couldn't have diverted its course after firing. An attack that strong was useless if it left him for dead after firing it.

"Hey Trunks, are you awake?"

Trunks started, not having realised he'd fallen asleep. Gohan was standing next to his bed, wearing an exact copy of his old clothes

"Yeah... or I thought I was." There was a moment of silence as he tried to think of what to say first "Where'd you get the uniform?"

Gohan patted down the front of his shirt, looking down at it nervously, "I found it in the closet after I woke up. I don't know where it came from though. Mr Popo might have come in while we were out, or this place also has magic."

"Huh, wouldn't be the weirdest thing about – Wait, what do you mean while we were out?" Trunks asked, craning his neck in a futile attempt to see one of the main clocks.

"That last fight left us pretty out of it. When I woke up I saw that it'd been two days since then."

Trunks marvelled at the fact that he'd somehow slept that long and woken up without any serious injuries. Without asking more about that he threw off the covers and got out of bed, stretching his arms. It felt good just standing up, which fit given how long he'd been in bed.

"So, about how the fight ended..."

He froze, not sure what to say or do next. He was going to apologise of course, but Gohan bringing it up made him think there might be more to it than that.

"You were really good!" Gohan beamed, which Trunks met with bewilderment. "That attack you used was _way_ stronger than what I was expecting, and it fired pretty fast too! I transformed to get the drop on you with my Kamehameha, and then after the blast hit me to try and take it, but it was way too much. You could totally take down Cell if you hit him with that!"

Trunks honestly didn't know how to respond to that. He could brush off everything that had happened and explain how he'd copied the attack from his father. He could accept the compliment and pretend that nothing had gone wrong. No, that wouldn't be right. He needed to apologise for putting their lives at risk for no good reason.

"Gohan, I almost got us both killed. I got so focused on winning that I became reckless; I'm sorry."

Gohan's grin shrank a little yet he kept his upbeat mood as he looked at Trunks' downcast face. "I'd rather not dwell on that. What matters is that you got us back safe. And you finally ascended, so I think the good outweighs the bad on this one."

"I ascended?" Trunks asked, a little amazed at what he'd just heard. Sure, he'd suspected but it was another thing to hear it from the only authority on the subject.

Gohan nodded, "Yeah, I woke up a little when you did it. It was incredible."

Trunks smiled. After all the time he'd spent trying to transform he'd finally done it. It was a little disappointing that he couldn't remember doing it, but it had to be easier the second time.

"That's great. I'll need to learn how to control the transformation but killing Cell should be a piece of cake!"

"That eager to start training huh?" Gohan chuckled, taking a few steps back from Trunks towards the door. "I'll start warming up, but in the meantime I think you need to get something to eat... and a new set of clothes!"

With alarm Trunks looked down and saw that he was wearing what could only be modestly called a pair of shorts. Blushing he darted for the apparently magical closets, Gohan's good natured laughter echoing through the small room.

A few minutes later he was facing Gohan a good distance away from the entrance, fully dressed and ready for a new day of work.

"Okay, I think we should start off slow." Gohan said, turning Super Saiyan. "It'll make it easier on you to rediscover that level of power if you ease it into it. I don't want to throw you into the deep end now."

"Nah, I don't think that'll be necessary. I've been preparing for this long enough that I shouldn't need training wheels."

Trunks transformed, and immediately powered up as far as possible. His aura thrummed mightily around him, sending gusts of wind through the sky.

' _No, not like this.'_ He closed his eyes, searching for the last feeling he'd had before blacking out. ' _I remember feeling so helpless and I saw something.'_

In a flash he saw himself staring into Gohan's lifeless eyes, felt the guilt and **anger** then the power.

As soon as he opened his eyes he knew that he'd done it. His body felt different, lighter somehow, and electricity was crackling all around him. Based on what he'd seen on Gohan his hair was probably standing up a lot more as well.

' _It won't always be that unpleasant. It wasn't for Super Saiyan.'_

"Well, what do you think?" He asked, unable to keep himself from smirking as he saw the look on Gohan's face.

Gohan's awe was replaced by a competitive grin as he transformed as well, sending out a similar flurry of lightning as his power soared. To Trunks' surprise, Gohan's power level rose far more than it had during any of their previous sparring sessions. Even the ones where he asked him not to hold back.

' _He was holding back all this time?_ _Whoa._ _I think this how Cell felt...'_

"Pretty good, but you have a long way to go before you catch up."

Gohan fell into a fighting stance, and Trunks did the same. The two Ascended Saiyans smirked at each other, both radiating utter confidence in their abilities. Without warning they sprung at each other, fists colliding with enough force to generate a shock wave that knocked a few clocks loose from the distant entry room.

The two took a moment to appreciate the other's strength before flickering out of sight. There was silence for a moment before the two clashed again some distance away, sending another colossal wave of force out, then another, then another until the sky was filled with zipping figures and the sound of mountains crashing.

* * *

 _AN: I swear to God I'm a masochist. Half of this chapter was supposed to be in the last one, and it turned into 3/4 of this. And the last quarter of this is going to be the opening to the next chapter. Well I guess the punishment is deserved after keeping you all waiting huh? If you look closely you can see the sections that were where the chapter was supposed to end but I decided to keep going._

 _Please let me know if I made any continuity mistakes or such. I wrote this over quite the time period and so my idea of who was what where may have differed._


	9. The Perfect Weapon

**Chapter Nine: The Perfect Weapon**

 **Author's Note: This chapter was updated with over 10k words since the last upload. This is a heads up in case you feel like you're having deja vu.**

* * *

The year was over, it was time to face the outside world once more. When he'd entered the time chamber he'd had his doubts about being able to ascend, doubts that were put to rest months ago. He'd trained as hard as he could, now all he had to do was face Cell. With the improvements he'd made, there wasn't anything scary about that any longer.

When he walked down the corridor to the Lookout with Gohan, he couldn't help but smile at what he knew would be waiting in his future. In this past he'd be able to see a blue sky again, and in his future he'd get the satisfaction of annihilating Cell down to the last molecule.

Piccolo's face was the first to greet him as he stepped into the light of day, looking through him as he tended to do. Krillin was there too, and so were the two Kaio. They looked downright impatient, which wasn't a good sign if he ever planned on speaking to them again.

"TRUNKS!"

Before he'd registered what was happening he felt himself be pulled forwards by a force impossible to resist. He couldn't help but panic as he tried his best not to fall over as he was suddenly face to face with an _unhappy_ Bulma Briefs.

"I can't believe you were going to come back without even coming to see me!" she snarled, flames spitting out of the corners of her mouth, glaring daggers at Trunks. "That's the kind of behaviour I'd expect from your father, not you! Didn't I raise you with any manners?"

Trunks found the words catching in his throat as he stammered, and had to slowly blink a few times to get the sweat out of his eyes. This wasn't what he'd anticipated at all! A quick sideways glance showed Krillin mouthing sorry at him while Piccolo and Gohan gave him looks of amused condolence.

"I...uh... It's good to see you mom." he said, managing a weak smile as he tried desperately to hold onto his posture. "I didn't want to get your hopes up for such a short visit, that's all."

He got to stop bending over once Bulma released his collar, folding her arms with steam leaking out of her ears. Trunks took a few deep breaths to clear his head of the instinctual panic that came from being faced by your angry mother.

"That's all? I know you came back because there's some new villain running around your world worse than the androids. Did you seriously think I'd be fine with not knowing if you died or not?"

"Mom, look, it's not as bad as it sounds," he placed his arms around her shoulders, doing his best to grip her firmly without hurting her. "It's just Cell again, and I've stronger than Gohan was when he defeated Cell."

Bulma's expression softened, all the anger and tension seeming to melt away as she gazed at Trunks with heartfelt concern.

"Cell? I don't understand, I thought you still had a few months before he showed up?"

"Yeah, I don't understand it too well myself but I think this creep Babidi had something to do with it. Um, Piccolo can tell you all about him, when I've left."

"And speaking of leaving, it's high time we do just that." Kibito said, pushing his way into the conversation and placing his hand on Trunks' shoulder.

"Yes, I'm sorry madam, but Trunks does have a good reason for being hasty." Supreme Kai interjected as well, moving to Trunks' other side. "The fate of an entire universe depends on your son's involvement."

"Oh, so you're the reason my Trunks couldn't spare a few minutes to see his mother before going to another battle to the death?" Bulma's temper flared up just as quickly as it had died, fortunately for Trunks being directed at the deity duo. "Who are you supposed to be anyway, party clowns?"

"Bulma..." Piccolo warned, eyes nervously darting between the two parties, "This is the Supreme Kai, Shin, and his helper, Kibito. They're the highest authority that exists in the universe."

"Huh, I thought that was King Kai?" Bulma asked, confusion and a little awe mixed in as she looked from Shin's enlightened smile and Kibito's stern grimace.

"The North Kai oversees this quadrant, while I am responsible for overseeing the whole. It is quite the responsibility." Shin's gaze turned inward for a moment before again falling on the blue haired heiress. "It is curious that you'd know of the local Kai. You must be a friend of Son Goku's?"

"How do you know my dad?" Gohan asked, speaking for the first time in as many minutes.

"I can't say I've had the pleasure, but Piccolo informed me that he was quite a courageous man."

"Yeah, he was."

A moment of silence settled over them all. Trunks was reminded of the moment Goku disappeared with Cell, sacrificing himself to save them all. It was the single moment that proved to him more than anything else that all the stories his mother had told him about the legendary hero were true.

The awful memory of what followed his honest sacrifice rekindled the fire that had died after being ambushed by his mother.

"Well, I'd say it's about time I get going." Trunks stated with a smile, doing his best to catch all his friend's eyes as he said it. It was unfair that he wouldn't be able to stretch out his farewell for longer but Shin was right. Time was of the essence, even if it didn't feel that way.

"Gohan, thank you for all your help. Without you I wouldn't be as strong as I am now, and I wouldn't be able to give Cell what he has coming without you."

"It was really no problem," Gohan gave him a thumbs up, "just remember our training and don't get cocky. You'll do great."

"What he said." Piccolo monotoned, somehow managing to look stern and supportive at once.

"What, it's not like you need _me_ for moral support." Krillin said with a laugh as Trunks instinctively looked at him next. "You've got this one in the bag. Heck, I'll bet the one who needs a pep talk is Cell with what you've got in store for him!"

That got a laugh out of Trunks, he was definitely ready to leave after that.

Something soft wrapped itself around him, looking down he saw his mother hugging him tightly and resting her head on his chest.

"Trunks, promise me you'll come back, okay?"

It sounded like she was on the verge of tears, and Trunks didn't know how to respond. Yeah, he knew what to say, but it didn't feel right. What if he lost? What if he got stuck somewhere without the time machine? What should he tell her in case any of her worst fears came true?

"I promise, I'll be back as soon as I win." He said, confident grin plastered on his face. He held her tight, returning the hug before letting go. "With how strong I am now, that'll be in a few hours and you'll feel silly for getting so worked up over nothing."

She pulled away from him and didn't say anything, which Trunks took as meaning there was nothing left to say. He gave Kibito a nod and waved bye to everyone.

At the last second it looked like Bulma had opened her mouth to say something but by the time he noticed he was already back on Kaioshinkai, next to the time machine.

"You guys really don't waste any time huh?" Trunks said dryly as he hopped into the cockpit. If it was possible these two were even worse socially than their future selves. Probably because he'd come to them first.

"I'd rather never see Majin Buu released in any time if I could help it." Shin stated. The passive smile he'd sported around Trunks was missing, as it often was when Majin Buu's name came up.

"Okay, I'll take the hint. Is there anything you want me to tell you in the future?" Trunks closed the dome of the ship and started up the time machine, causing it to rise softly into the air. One push of a button was all that was left to get him back to the future.

"Wish him luck. It sounds like you have the situation with Babidi well in hand already."

' _If he wasn't acting so mysterious all the time I'd say he looks pleased right now_.'

Trunks gave them a curt wave and pressed the start button. From his perspective they faded away slowly before being replaced with a similar scene. Kaioshinkai was a uniform planet so the only real sign he had that he was in the future was his mother's ki being present.

"Time to get to work." He muttered, climbing out of the time machine and leaping into the air. It would only take a few minutes to fly to them, go back to Earth, deal with Cell and then let everyone in the past know he'd done it.

A straightforward plan. The hardest part would be taking down Cell, and that was going to be a cakewalk.

So what did it matter if he took a short detour?

Not long after thinking that Trunks found himself facing with the Z-Sword once again. It looked just as unassuming as the first time, but now he had two things working for him. He knew how hard it really was to get out and he was vastly stronger than he'd been before.

Giving it a good tug in his base form almost ended up giving him friction burn, so clearly he hadn't come too far in that department. With that in mind he'd probably need the second level to pull it out at all, though that would utterly ruin the element of surprise he'd been aiming for. It wouldn't be a good surprise entrance if they'd need to be blind to miss his presence on their planet.

"Well I'm sure it'll still count if I show up with this."

With somewhat renewed confidence he took a firm hold of the hilt and transformed to Super Saiyan II. He threw his head back and screamed, pulling with all his might -

And with a single heave he freed the Z-Sword from its prison.

Electricity ran down the length of the blade as a precursor to the golden flames chasing after it. Trunks held the sword out and took a few test swings, impressed by how light it felt in his hands. It was still far heavier than his old sword but the monstrous weight that had stuck it to the ground was gone. As an experiment he dropped to Super Saiyan and was pleased to find that he was still able to wield the sword.

While his mastery of the form was so complete that there really wasn't a difference to him, for familiarity's sake he descended back to normal as he flew over to the place where his mother and the Kaioshin were camped out.

As he got closer he saw that the three of them were seated in a triangle around something on the ground. His curiosity was satisfied and he had to stifle a chuckle as he saw his mother move a small figure across a board.

"I hope I'm not too late to join in. Y'know I always loved board games."

"Trunks!" Bulma yelled, shooting up from her seat and tackling Trunks in a hug. He hugged her back with one arm, delighted to see his real mother after a year away.

"You're back." Shin intoned, standing up from the board and greeting him with a wide-eyed stare as he saw what was clutched in Trunks' left hand.

"The... the Z-Sword... impossible... a mortal is holding the Z-Sword." Kibito stuttered before taking a few steps closer out of shock.

"Yeah, it wasn't that hard. I guess I'd loosened it up the first time." Trunks said, smirking and lightly flicking the end of the sword.

"Ah." Shin's eyes widened in recognition. "Your training in the past was successful, I presume?"

"It was." Trunks nodded, getting back to business mode. "We can go back to Earth now and clean up this mess. Cell and Dabura won't be a threat."

"Excellent. Kibito, if you will."

The astonished attendant shot to attention and reached out for Trunks' shoulder.

"Wait." Bulma said in a half-whisper, taking Trunks' hand in both of hers. "Trunks, promise me you'll be careful. I remember the times you were sure you could take on 17 and 18... and how they ended..."

"Mom, it won't be like that, I promise. I know for a fact I'm stronger than Cell is, and I know all his moves. This'll be over before you know it."

"I just wish there were some way I could see you were safe. You don't know what it's like being held in suspense all the time."

"There won't be any suspense. I'll be fine." Trunks said reassuringly, touching the side of her cheek before withdrawing.

"Let's get going."

"One thing before we leave," Shin said and aimed his hand at Trunks. A second later a scabbard in the same colour and style as the Kaioshin's appeared around his back. "There, now you have a fitting holster."

"Thanks." Trunks slid the Z-Sword into the sheath. It felt like he was carrying a boulder on his back but he could handle it.

Kibito's hand settling on his arm and Shin stepping next to him alerted him to the fact that he was about to leave.

"Trunks..."

Bulma smiled at him, looking tearful before her expression hardened and a cruel smirk spread over her lips.

"Kick his ass."

He couldn't help but smirk back before he disappeared from Kaioshinkai.

 **-Babidi-**

 _These mini-Cells are the worst bodyguards I could ever have asked for!_

He was paying half-attention to the crystal ball showing him planet New Namek. It had been exciting to see Cell's progress at getting the dragon balls at first. But the search and recovery was quite boring, since once Cell's children found a dragon ball the natives just handed it over without putting up so much as a token resistance.

With nothing to do but stand around and guard him the two juniors that Cell had left behind to protect him had fallen asleep. They were still standing, which was impressive, but they were useless if he actually came under attack now.

He'd been unable to rest knowing that the Supreme Kai and his cronies were still out there plotting his demise. His deterrents to the Kaioshin attacking him had all been removed by Cell himself, and while he'd been assured that the Cell juniors would be more effective guards than Dabura he very much doubted it. For one, he didn't have unmitigated control over them.

After Cell had left he'd tried searching through their minds for any seeds of evil he could use to control them and found only a fierce, yet oddly childish loyalty to Cell. Any attack on their minds would be a wasted effort unless he got to Cell first.

The majority of his time had been spent constructing scenarios of what he'd do after Majin Buu was revived. With Buu freed he'd have no more use for Cell, so the bug would either be brought to heel or discarded. Then the Supreme Kai would pay for killing his father, and his stooge would die as well. Kaioshinkai was inaccessible for his magic, but with Buu's power to draw on that wouldn't matter. He would turn the Sacred World of the Kais into the seat of his new empire and rule the universe unopposed!

With the dragon balls, he could rule for _eternity_!

Three more dragon balls were left until his dream would come true. The giddiness he felt was just enough to counteract the drowsiness.

 _Twzzt_

Suddenly the Supreme Kai, Kibito and the purple haired boy from before were standing in front of him looking very serious. Instantly he fell back and let out a yelp of surprise, then struggled to get up as fast as possible from his tangled cape. The Cell juniors both woke up in curiosity at Babidi's outburst, then leapt into startled poses at seeing their enemies in front of them.

"Just two of you? This is going to be the easiest payback ever."

Babidi watched as both juniors dashed at Trunks, leaving blurred outlines behind. There was a blue and gold flash then the headless bodies of the Cell jrs skidded through the ground behind Trunks.

"Was that all of them or are a few hiding behind that rock over there?" Trunks quipped, placing his sword back into its sheath.

Babidi was frozen in shock, staring at the decapitated heads that had just fallen at Trunks' feet.

 _His hair, it looks the same. But I saw that light, it's like when he was fighting Dabura. So he did change, but only for a second. That shouldn't be possible! Both of them should have given him a lot more trouble._

"It's time to talk Babidi. If you're cooperative you might have at least one good deed to your soul before going to hell." The Supreme Kai said, walking menacingly towards Babidi with his eyes glowing omniously.

"W-what do you want to know?" He said, quivering and looking around rapidly for any escape routes.

Conditions were less than ideal but they wanted something from him. He could use that for leverage or just to work on a plan. His options were limited being ambushed like this but there was some magic he could use to keep them occupied if he had to.

"Where's Cell?" Trunks asked, glaring at him.

"Where is Dabura?" Kibito asked, giving an equally menacing glare.

 _Oh. This might actually play right into my hands. I just need to look panicked enough and they'll be out of my hair._

"Cell murdered Dabura! Can you believe it, that thug robbed me of my most useful servant?" Babidi spat, radiating pure anger as he curled up and projected as much animosity as he could at the image of Cell captured in his crystal ball – that they all looked at. "If I had my way that insect would be squashed under a boot where he belongs! But I -"

He paused. It looked like Trunks was paying attention to his rant, but the Supreme Kai looked dismissive. Not the best crowd for this, but he was sure to grab their full attention with his next revelation.

"He threatened me! He forced me to send him to Namek, I don't know why. I've been monitoring him, waiting for him to slip up so I can give him what he's got coming for taking Dabura from me!"

 _That got a reaction!_

Trunks looked like he'd just had a heart attack while the two Kaioshin appeared mildly distressed, which was good as far as reactions from them went. Yes, they were all focused on Cell now, no room to worry about little old Babidi.

"We have to go now." Trunks said, turning away from Babidi and facing the Supreme Kai directly. "I can explain more when we get there but we cannot wait."

"Alright Trunks, if you say it's urgent I believe you." The Supreme Kai said, and it was hard for Babidi to hide his smile as he got the break he needed.

"However, I have to eliminate Babidi first. He's too dangerous to be allowed to run loose."

 _Crap!_

The Supreme Kai's hand filled with translucent energy as he spun towards Babidi, arm winding back to throw the blast.

"Paparapapa!"

The trio disappeared from the face of the Earth. Babidi breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he'd already had the spell active for Cell in the first place. They were all on Namek now. They could return on their own, but stopping Cell would take priority. Hopefully. Either way he needed to tell his "partner" that he'd have trouble to deal with, then do his best to rebuild as much of his spaceship as he could. This planet was too dangerous to stay on for much longer.

 **-Cell-**

' _Cell! I hate to interrupt your beauty sleep but this is important!'_

Cell startled awake, looking around for the source of the voice before recognising it as Babidi's. It had been fun watching the Namekians squirm around him but after a few long hours of standing around waiting for his Juniors to get back he decided to take a nap.

"What is it? The dragon balls aren't gathered yet."

' _The wretched Kai and his entourage have returned! The boy killed the two brats you left with me, I had no choice but to send them to you.'_

"Trunks killed my Juniors?" Cell looked down, frowning at what this meant. From what he had seen during Trunks' fight with Dabura it wasn't that far out of the realm of possibility that he could manage to overpower one Cell Junior, but both of them at once? Maybe the boy was more skilled than he'd given him credit for. "And you sent him here? Where exactly?"

' _I don't know, Namek, where you arrived! I didn't have time to pick out the scenery!'_

"All right, I'll handle it. Get yourself somewhere safe in case the Supreme Kai decides to come back for you. I don't have any Juniors to waste on you."

The presence vanished from his mind and Cell was all alone in the middle of the Namekian village with an exciting new problem on his hands.

"So Trunks, all it took was a day for you to grow a spine." Cell said with a smile, looking over his back at the dragon balls that had been gathered so far. Five down two to go. He expected the Namekians to be tight lipped with the password but he could torture it out of them if it was more complex than 'Arise eternal dragon'.

 _Juniors! I need five of you with me, the two still searching for a dragon ball keep looking._

He could feel Trunks' energy now, it was heading his way. There was some improvement but it wasn't what Cell would call significant. That just made his curiosity greater. How had Trunks beaten two Cell Juniors and come out unscathed?

In the time it took for his Juniors to rally themselves around him, Trunks and his backup had arrived. Cell didn't bother with so much as a glance at the gods, focusing all his attention on the only important one in their trio. Trunks looked the same as last time, the only difference being the sword strapped to his back. And the look of sheer confidence in his eyes.

"Is that the Z-Sword? I'd hoped to pull it out myself. Oh well, I suppose there's nothing wrong with taking it off of your corpse."

"Supreme Kai, Kibito, take the dragon balls far away from here. I'll handle them myself."

What was odd was that Trunks didn't assume a fighting stance, didn't even reach for the hilt of his sword as he said this. He just kept his gaze trained on Cell as the Supreme Kai and Kibito began flying away from him.

"Nice show of confidence, but your bluff won't work on me. That sword of yours is the only way you were able to beat the two Juniors I left with Babidi. You may be strong enough to handle two on one odds, but against five of my Juniors I'm afraid you just can't keep up." Cell looked towards the kaioshin, "And you two aren't going to get past me."

"You think the Z-Sword is how I beat your minions back on Earth?" Trunks smirked, bringing his fists up to his sides and transforming to Super Saiyan. "Let them attack me all at once and I'll show you how wrong you are."

The Cell Jrs had flanked out on either side of Cell, with the fifth one hovering above the others. They were all giggling and exchanging eager glances with each other after hearing Trunks' challenge, and seeing how amused Cell was with it.

"If that's how you want to die, so be it. You heard him children, go have fun."

Five Cell Juniors pounced at Trunks like bloodthirsty lions, before any of them could touch him there was a flash of lightning and a surge of power off of Trunks' form. The Juniors were all stopped in their tracks by the sudden force, and then in a series of blurs they each exploded into blue gore streaked chunks.

Cell stared dumbfounded at Trunks, whose aura was now wreathed with lightning and was grinning back at him with hands surrounded by purple mist.

"See, I didn't even need the sword. You made the same mistake King Cold did, and you're going to die just like he did."

 _King Cold? What does he have to do with -_

 _ **Goku was standing in front of the horned tyrant, Super Saiyan aura billowing around him as he stood with his arm extended. Cold's words fell on deaf ears, pleas for mercy and bargaining going unheard before a bolt of energy erased him from existence.**_

 _ **And just for a moment, instead of Goku staring down Cold it was Trunks with the same uncaring expression and sword sheathed on his back.**_

"You travelled to the past! That's how you knew all about me! That's how you got so strong!"

Trunks nodded, and Cell just now noted that there had been a shift in how his hair looked. This wasn't Super Saiyan... what was it?

"Right, and it's where I saw you get beaten after you used every move in your book. There's nothing you can do that I haven't seen before, from you."

"This doesn't change anything! I am Perfect, and whatever shadow of me you may have faced, I am far beyond it!" Cell's aura burned around him, waves of energy smashing down the Namekian huts and sending the few of them unlucky enough to be caught flying. "If that version of me lost it could not have been perfect, it is impossible for the perfect being to be defeated!"

Trunks flashed in front of Cell, fist pulled back, "You're wrong."

Cell's eyes bulged out of their sockets as the punch landed, burying itself into his guts with such force that it felt like it was going to come out of his back. He gagged, falling forwards over Trunks just before his head was brutally snapped back and he was thrown off his feet.

He landed dead on his back, eyes white from shock. It only lasted for a few seconds before his power returned in full force and he sprang back to his feet, facing Trunks with an angry glare as he massaged his neck.

"You'll pay for that, boy. Just like the last one to lay a hand on my perfect body." Cell's voice was steeped with malice as he finished stretching his neck, which had gotten only mild amusement from Trunks. "But first tell me, how did you get so strong? You were only gone a day, it's inconceivable you could have grown your strength so much in such a short time."

"A proper explanation is more than you deserve, but I can keep it simple for you. What you see is a form beyond Super Saiyan. Ascended Saiyan or Super Saiyan II are find for names, I prefer the second one. It's harder to confuse with the _other_ ascended form."

Trunks flexed his muscles and flared his aura along with it, forcing the terrain around Cell to blow away with the exception of the area the artificial being was standing on.

"With this form **Gohan** was able to beat you, and that's after he'd just unlocked it. I've had a whole **year** to master this form. However strong you think you can become, I'm already ten steps ahead."

 _It doesn't sound like he's bluffing. Damn it. If what he's saying is true..._ _ **No**_ _. I cannot lose! I have yet to unveil my full power, and in a short time I will have the power of the Dragon Balls on my side. Trunks, you will learn to fear my perfect power!_

Hiding his unease at Trunks' boast was easy, the feeling was already disappearing into a series of calculated motions. Two Cell Jrs were close to the last Dragon Balls, and if he could keep Trunks occupied and stopped the Kais from interfering then he would be able to make whatever wish he wanted. Reviving Majin Buu was no longer a priority. There was a formidable enough challenge right in front of him.

"I see. You'll understand if I'll need to experience proof of that claim for myself." Cell smiled, assuming a power stance and concentrating all the power he could into his core. A moment later a new Cell Junior was born, the strongest one he'd ever made. "What do you say we take the fight somewhere else before we get serious? Destroying a few Nameks doesn't mean anything to me, but I understand you heroic types don't like it when a few ants get crushed."

Trunks was thoughtful for a moment then nodded, folding his arms over his chest while keeping a suspicious eye on Cell.

"Fine. Let's do this on one of the islands I saw on the way here."

Before Cell could respond Trunks had zoomed off into the distance, leaving a trail of golden flames behind him. Cell was lost in envy at the speed before snapping out of it and addressing the Cell Junior.

"Guard the Dragon Balls and make sure no-one gets close to them. Kill whoever tries, but don't get distracted."

He raced after Trunks, trusting the Junior to not need reinforcement.

As a Super Saiyan II Trunks' energy was like an inferno in Cell's mind, the immensity of it practically blocking out all other energy signatures on the planet, including the Junior he'd just made. It was definitely troublesome, and considering that he only had 40% more of his power to draw on... whatever happened next was going to be extremely painful.

Cell dropped down from the sky in front of Trunks, confidence firmly in place. The island Trunks had chosen to be their battleground wasn't any different from the hundreds of others scattered across the emerald seas, though it was hard to say if any of them were. While he should have been solely focused on the imminent battle to the death about to unfold, a small but significant part of him was disappointed at how dull the site of their battle would be. At their level a scenic grass covered rock just didn't cut it.

"Here I am. Would you like to start things up at 100% or is a warm-up in order?"

"I'm tired of hearing you talk Cell. The sooner we fight the sooner I can kill you and go after Babidi."

Cell's face deepened into a scowl at the latest dismissal of his power. He powered up immediately, digging his nails into his palms as he started to bring all of his ki up to its highest level.

"So we're skipping the warm-up. Fine, have it your way. In the end I will see you **burn**!"

The scalding golden light around Cell grew to blinding levels, blasting away the soil and scoring a shallow crater into the surface of the island. Streams of water and clips of rock swirling into the air around his aura. The intense pitch of his aura gave way to Cell's deep scream as he threw his head back and arms down, letting loose an explosion of energy that shattered the half of the island he'd stood on into splinters that were thrust into the atmosphere along with columns of superheated steam.

"Now do you see?" He declared, speaking through almost clenched teeth. "This is the insurmountable power of perfection! The power of the strongest being in the UNIVERSE!"

Trunks grinned and opened his arms widely, "Try and hit me."

Cell obliged. Faster than the eye could see he fired a blow at Trunks, and felt the earth crumble as his fist smashed into it. His eyes widened in shock and fury. How could he have been so fast! Cell stopped and looked around the area, seeing no trace of Trunks.

"Over here."

It came from behind. Just as he started to turn around his head was driven into the ground, and his body was sent hurtling down with it. He tore through what was left of the island like it was made of paper, piercing the ocean water like a bullet until he hit the bottom.

Trunks appeared over him, shining like a beacon in the darkness. Dozens of blows rained onto his torso before his mind even caught up to what was happening, each one bringing catastrophic pain. Blood shot out of his mouth as his chest caved in, yet the relentless assault didn't end. If anything Trunks doubled the speed and force behind his punches, breaking Cell's ribs into confetti before snapping his leg up and kicking him back to the surface. Cell was barely aware of anything as he crossed the boundary between sea and sky, unable to get a grasp on anything but the deathly pain in his chest.

Namekian regeneration saved him from enduring it for much longer.

Cell took in deep, heavy breaths, unable to comprehend the beating he had just taken. He had thought that at 100% it would make _some_ difference. He'd been wrong. This Super Saiyan II, it increased power to an insane degree. Even while being thrashed, he could sense that Trunks was nowhere near exerting himself.

 _Even at the summit of my power he's still too strong! Darn it! If only I'd gotten my hands on him back on Earth, this wouldn't be happening right now._

Cell doubled over in rage, frustrated anew at Dabura's crass interference. It had been just a minor annoyance then when he'd had all the time in the world to go after Trunks, but now... Now he knew that time had been on Trunks' side, not his.

 _My design is perfect, so how can it be that I'm already out of options? His strength, his speed, I can't hope to keep up! My only advantage is..._

He had to wrack his brain for that last word. He didn't have any time before Trunks would rise up after him and restart their 'battle'. Why the Saiyan had even left him alone for this long was a question Cell was fine leaving unanswered. If his arrogance was-

 _That's it! For all his newfound power, this is still Trunks I'm dealing with. Brash, headstrong, ill-trained Trunks. Dr Gero may not have been monitoring him, but the androids have known him for years. Every move he has, he has to have used on them at least once. He was trained by Gohan... I know him well enough to fill in the blanks._

"Done taking a breather?" Trunks asked, speaking in front of Cell as though he'd always been there. Cell resisted the instinct to jerk back at how alien it was for him to appear as though he'd always been there. That was a scare tactic he was not going to fall for. "If you're not going to try and fight back, I should just end you right now."

Cell smiled back at Trunks and placed his hands together in front of him. A golden glow surrounded them that flowed back over his body.

"You'd like that wouldn't you? For me just to lay down and die. Is it because that's the only way you can kill me? It would be truly pathetic if for all your power you're still unable to destroy me."

"You're being pretty pathetic for a so called 'Perfect being' if you choose to believe that." Trunks raised his hand, fingers splayed and palm aimed directly at Cell's head. "You have the same weakness as any other Namekian. If I destroy your head, it's game over for you."

Cell flinched at hearing those words and his aura doubled in size. His attack was ready, but it didn't look like Trunks had any intention of dodging or putting up a token defence. Well that was going to cost him.

"You'll never get the chance." Cell promised just before an extra set of arms shot out of his back. They assumed the same position as the first pair, though to Cell's joy Trunks looked shocked for the first time since their initial meeting.

 _This will keep the smug look off your face._

"KIKOHO!"

Two equally aggressive walls of energy slammed into Trunks and overcame his guard well enough to send him flying into the ocean. Cell was honestly a little surprise at how effective the attack was, but that didn't mean he was going to assume one hit was enough.

"KIKOHO!"

The second blast struck Trunks before he could rise from the water, and made him plummet down hundreds of meters. Cell could see that thanks to all the displaced seawater, but he wasn't done. Actually hitting rock bottom minutes ago was a fresh enough memory that he wanted to get payback for it.

"KI-

-KO

-HO!"

Three more triangular blasts were enough to knock Trunks down to the bottom, Cell was able to get an enjoyable glimpse of the teen lying on his face before the ocean fell back down over him. As much as he wanted to keep going until he exposed the very core of the planet, the Kikoho was a draining technique, and using it ten times in less than a minute was tiring him more than being beaten had. With enough energy he could repair his body, but the reverse sadly wasn't true.

 _Not usually an issue with a perfect body._

"The Four Witches technique used with the Kikoho. I'm surprised Tien never thought of that. Would've helped against Nappa."Cell said with a smile, pleased to once more have shown off his superiority to his progenitors. Tien's last stand against Nappa had been where he'd gotten the idea to use the Kikoho from, adding in the Shiyoken had been his own added touch.

A ripple spread over the surface of the ocean before it exploded into foam. Cell was just barely able to make out the golden streak at the centre of it before he felt himself falling weightlessly backwards. It only lasted an instant before seemingly the force of a truck hit his chest and sent him flying back. He was barely aware of how far he'd been hit as he skimmed the water, crashing through a few islands before coming to a halt on one of the beaches.

"Did I hit a nerve," Cell said, staggering to his feet with such a pain in his head that there might as well have been cartoon birds circling it. His vision was flashing in and out but he could see Trunks flying towards him like some wannabe righteous avenger holding...

 _Oh._

 _My arms are gone._

The fact that the raging pain wasn't just in his head occurred to him at that moment. Looking down at his bloody stumps he was able to confirm that what Trunks had in his grasp weren't just impressive examples of the local seaweed.

"You won't be hitting me with that one twice." Trunks let go of the limbs to emphasise his point.

It really shouldn't have bothered Cell to see his former arms sink into the water, but for some reason it did. Maybe it was the flagrant way Trunks had overpowered him. Maybe it was seeing parts from his perfect self be discarded like trash. Whatever it was, he wanted to strangle Trunks even harder than he had before.

"You say it like you've accomplished something," new arms grew out of Cell's stumps as he said this, and he brought the tips of his right finger up to his forehead.

"The Special Beam Cannon? I've seen you use that before."

Cell bit down on his tongue and a vein bulged in his forehead, "Then you should stop me before I charge it. Or would you like another bath?"

"Hah. You know I could dodge it pretty easily." Trunks folded his arms and stared back at Cell. Sparks were picking up as Cell charged his attack, but it didn't look like Trunks was worried in the slightest.

 _Damn! He's right. I don't have a disposable idiot like Goku to hold him in place for this._

' _Juniors! How far are you with the Dragon Balls?'_

It took longer than he would have liked to get a response.

' _hey dad!'_

' _hi dad!'_

' _we got the last dragon balls!'_

' _we're gonna have a race to see who can get back first.'_

' _but we're busy working on the rules so there's no cheating'_

' _NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR CHILDISH GAMES! GET BACK TO THE VILLAGE WITH THE REST OF THE DRAGON BALLS OR I WILL END YOUR LIVES!'_

The psychic equivalent of terrified shrieking came before he shut out the connection and refocused on Trunks. He was glad to have the autonomous help, but perhaps he would have been better off just using the multi-form technique.

 _Hmm. There's a thought... No, it wouldn't work. At half my strength it would take longer to charge up the Makankosappo than I'd be able to hold him._

"Buster Cannon!"

Cell just managed to leap over the blast, watching it plough it into the sand with a grin that was swept off his face as soon as he looked up and saw Trunks waiting there with the Z-Sword held over his head.

Panic shot through him as he flashed back to seeing Dabura in the same pose right before getting his head cut in two. As Trunks swung the sword down Cell left an after-image behind as he put on a burst of speed to escape the curve of the blade. He didn't get far as almost immediately after the illusion dissipated Trunks located him and charged at him, and this time he was too slow to dodge. The tip of the Z-Sword penetrated his armour, rupturing a lung and causing Cell to experience a whole new type of pain for that day. Before he could work on escaping Trunks pushed forward and ran him through with the blade, burying it up to the hilt in his chest. He wasn't so much coughing up blood as throwing it up.

Trunks pulled out the sword, the wound healing as soon as it was removed, and elbowed Cell in the face. This knocked him back a little but compared to what he'd already been through it was virtually gentle.

"It's time to end this." Trunks intoned, bringing both arms slowly together in front of him, palms facing outwards. "I'll give you ten seconds to try whatever you want, but after that you'll be in hell."

Cell's first thought was to call Trunks' bluff. There was no way a Saiyan, no matter how powerful, could destroy him. He was Perfect!

That first thought died as soon as it was born. Dabura had come close to ending his existence, and Trunks was orders of magnitude stronger.

Ideas for attacks and techniques to use against Trunks came next. But all they would do was stall. Which was quite fine, but in five seconds and with Trunks charging up an attack of his own – and apparently already knowing all of his techniques – there wasn't much he could do. He could fire off a Solar Flare, but if Trunks closed his eyes Cell wasn't fast enough to put good distance between them.

What he needed was more power. If not to send Trunks into the next dimension then at least to make his methods of escape actually stick. He had one way of doing it, but after seeing Trunks so casually recover from all his other attacks he doubted it would be enough.

Well, there was one way to do it. He could ask Babidi to unlock his latent powers. It had worked on 17 and 18, there was no reason to doubt it would work on him. He hadn't been interested before because he had been sure that his perfect form had already given him all the power he'd ever need. He'd been wrong.

"Babidi!" He yelled, doing his best to reopen their mental link at the same time. He couldn't be sure if the imp was watching, or even if their communication wasn't one-way but it was the best shot he had at survival.

' _Yes? What do you want?'_

The wizard's shrill voice sounded like that of an angel at that moment. Cell couldn't dwell on his relief as Trunks' countdown was still under way.

' _Use your magic to make me as powerful as you possibly can! I don't have time to explain what for, just do it!'_

' _What?! You're asking me to – You know that magic binds your will to mine, right?'_

"I don't care! Just do it **now**!"

In the next second it felt like a needle made of pure magma was inserted into Cell's brain and allowed to melt into every corner. He screamed in pain, clutching his head as the heat erupted to the rest of his body. The pain was so great he couldn't even stay focused on Trunks, it was so great that he even forgot himself.

Then something shifted. It wasn't pain filling him, but power. The intense heat he'd felt was merely the spark igniting something far greater, something that surged up from Cell's core and made him realise how little power he'd truly known.

His pained scream transitioned to laughter, cruel booming laughter that preceded a flare of his aura as he exercised his enhanced power.

"Finish Buster!"

 _Ah. Such a basic move._

It was easy to put up a barrier to block it, and the attack burst on contact with the buzzing green shield. Cell took it down a second later, eager to get an unobstructed look at the baffled look on Trunks' face.

"What's the matter? Not destroying me as easily as you hoped?"

Cell held up his hand to see if anything was different. Veins were sticking out all along his arm but it didn't look harmful. And he was feeling greater than ever before. Only the moment when he had ascended to perfection could match the euphoria filling his spirit.

"I probably have an M on my forehead right now, but that's not what should concern you," Cell entered a confident stance as he spoke, aura burning brightly around him. "What you should be worried about is what we have in common."

There wasn't much of a visual shift in Cell's aura, but what did happen was _significant_. Bolts of electricity manifested in his aura as his power level skyrocketed. His smirk moved even higher as he deepened his stare at Trunks, letting only the sound of his energy fill the air between them.

"You're going to pay. Yes," Cell snarled, memories of the humiliation he'd suffered darkening his thoughts. "You're going to pay for everything you did to me!"

Cell's fist planted itself in Trunks' face, snapping the Saiyan's head back. A kick to the side of the head sent him flying to the side, where he was intercepted by Cell drop-kicking him. His body whistled down to the ground, though a sudden burst of his aura stopped Trunks from hitting the ground.

"It feels so good to have the natural order restored!" Cell laughed, "Does it hurt, knowing you're just another insect to me once more?"

Trunks silently wiped away a line of bloody saliva from his lip, frowning at the red mark it left on his hand. He braced himself, golden winds ripping violently through the air.

"If you waited before making your arrogant speeches, maybe you wouldn't look like such an idiot when this happens."

"When what happen-"

 _ **KA-THOOOM**_

When Cell came to his senses he found himself sitting at the bottom of a crater where an island had been, with the hole Trunks had made in his stomach just starting to push out. The electrified aura he had so proudly flaunted was still buzzing around him, only serving to heighten his confusion. He was still operating at maximum power, yet Trunks had just caught him off guard – again. How was that possible? After Babidi had unlocked his power he had been sure that he had reached Trunks' level.

As Cell rubbed his head Trunks flickered in front of him and slammed a boot into his head, sending him sliding backwards into the jagged seawall hard enough to send down a thick stream of water.

"I was only toying with you before. Did you think I'd waste all of my energy just to show you up?" Trunks said, folding his arms over his chest and staring nonchalantly at Cell.

"You... You're a monster." Cell said in a trembling voice, backing up against the edge of the rocks as much as he could. With an explosion of speed he shot into the air, fleeing as fast as he could away from Trunks. In the blink of an eye Trunks appeared in front of him with his arms held out. Cell recoiled and sped away in another direction, only to be stopped again.

"I'm not letting you get away, and you used up your ten seconds with that pointless buff."

Golden light shot from Trunks' hands, forming large coils of lightning as ki surged into them.

Cell was back where he had been five minutes ago, only now he had exhausted his best option as well. He had dismissed a few options before in favour of Babidi's help, but right now he would try _anything_. He could bulk up his body for more power, but that wouldn't match the kind of boost he had received from Babidi's sorcery. Even if in the best case scenario he became strong enough to hurt Trunks, he would be too slow to catch him. And right now speed was just as important as power.

 _How am I supposed to beat him without using my own power? The Spirit Bomb perhaps? No, there's no way in hell I could afford to stand around and gather enough power to kill him. The Kienzan is my best bet. Even if he dodges, it'll give me time to... to..._

 _To what? I have no way to bridge the gap in our powers, or even to set him up for a surprise attack. Damn it! Frieza had better chances of winning at the end than this!_

It clicked. While he didn't have Goku's memories of Namek, he did have Frieza's, and with that the experience of every way that Goku had tried overcoming the tyrant. The Spirit Bomb and Super Saiyan transformation dominated the perception, but there was a hidden gem there that Frieza – and Cell – had completely overlooked. But from Vegeta's memories, he knew that it was a skill that Goku had possessed back on Earth as well.

 _Why didn't I think of this sooner!_

"Any last words?" Trunks asked, pulling his hands back a little more as the mass of golden ki neared completion.

"Actually Trunks, one does come to mind." Cell said, smirking with what was more relief than he'd ever admit.

"Kaioken!"

His golden aura exploded with red as he blazed forwards and decked Trunks in the jaw, throwing the Saiyan back hundreds of meters. Cell followed his flying body and unleashed a series of lightning fast punches into his gut before grabbing him by the throat and flying upwards. Trunks came to as they passed the bounds of the upper atmosphere and tore Cell's arm off, throwing a punch that was barely deflected to the side. Cell threw his head forwards into Trunks, forcing him back with a grimace of pain, then slammed his fist into his gut hard enough to make him gasp. A mistake with so little air available, as he immediately grasped at his throat with a panicked look.

Cell sprouted a new arm and swung it at Trunks, to have it caught in the Super Saiyan's iron grip. His red aura doubled in intensity as he forced his wrist out of the hold and brought both hands up to club Trunks from below, sending the Saiyan further away from Namek's atmosphere. Trunks quickly recovered and flew at Cell, while he placed his hands to the sides of his head. The flash of light blinded Trunks, and as he rubbed his eyes and flew backwards, Cell lifted both arms with glowing discs held in them.

Without any air to transmit their characteristic hum, Trunks was both blind and deaf as the Kienzans came hurtling at him. His ki sense, while dulled by the Solar Flare, did warn him in time to dodge one with the only harm coming to his cheek. The other one ripped through his right arm and caused him to silently scream as blood gushed from the open wound.

Cell grinned and flashed behind Trunks, his arm pulled back and crackling with energy. Lightning flashed through his crimson aura as he punched Trunks in the back of the head, shooting the Saiyan at Namek faster than the eye could see in a golden haze that soon turned blinding red and white as he entered the atmosphere. From Cell's vantage point he could see the huge explosion that followed Trunks hitting the surface, and flew down there with a smile on his face.

In the middle of what looked like an entire cracked continent covered in a hurricane of dust and molten rock, Trunks was lying sprawled on dark earth tinted red by his blood. The best part was that his hair had turned back to purple, indicating that he was either unconscious or dead.

"Honestly, I wish I'd opened with that one." Cell said, chuckling as he landed with his boot on top of the lavender head of the last surviving Saiyan. His eyes traced heavenward with an almost grateful smile. "Thank you Goku, I couldn't have done it without you."

Cell looked down at Trunks, trying to decide whether or not crushing his skull would be a more satisfying death than leaving him to bleed out. It would feel better, but for a warrior race like Saiyans wouldn't it be more humiliating to die as a consequence of battle rather than being directly killed?

In the end he wasn't Frieza, and it would feel nicer to grind in the skull of the one who had come close to extinguishing his perfection.

"Goodbye Trunks. Tell Dr Gero that he succeeded."

He brought his foot up, then stamped it down at Trunks' head. There was a moment of resistance that made his foot pause millimetres away from its target, right before the Super Saiyan II aura sparked to life around Trunks.

Cell's eyes widened in shock, and as he began to mouth his next words Trunks rolled over and aimed his surviving hand at Cell. It lit up with golden light that doubled in vigour near instantaneously.

"FINAL FLASH!"

Trunks and Cell's screams both vanished as the burning golden attack struck Cell, blasting him off his feet and carrying him into the sky as it swallowed his form. Even after the vast column of the attack left the atmosphere Trunks continued to pour energy into it until it was just a glimmer in the sky and his charged aura died, his hair falling back down over his face as he panted. He slumped backward with his eyes closed just as rain started to fall.

 **-Shin-**

The plan after leaving Kaioshinkai had been so simple that it was hard to see where they had gone wrong. Trunks had more than enough power to vanquish Cell, and he and Kibito both knew enough of Babidi's tricks to counter them. Yet somehow they had found themselves tangled in an entirely different plot. Cell's energy had grown remarkably in just a few moments, and the feeling it gave off was no longer desperation but tacit confidence. The only explanation was that Babidi had unlocked his latent powers. The battle was now progressing at a level beyond where they could be of reasonable help to Trunks, what little help they could deliver would be strictly from the side-lines.

The quickest way to resolve things would be to return to Earth and kill Babidi immediately. Whether or not his magic lived on after his death it would prevent Cell from leaving Namek at least, and seal Majin Buu's fate. The loss of the Namekian race would be an unfortunate consequence, but necessary to preserve the safety of the rest of the universe.

Yet he knew that if they left to engage in that plan, then they would be failing Trunks. Cell's children were gathering the dragon balls to make a diabolical wish of their own, and if they succeeded then the chance they had of beating him would vanish. He didn't know the limits of the dragon's powers, but any number of wishes could enable Cell to become a far worse threat than even Buu. Preventing that was the best way to help Trunks and prevent the rise of a great evil, not by going after Babidi.

Taking on the lone Junior guarding the dragon balls was an option too dangerous to be their first resort. It was much stronger than the ones Trunks had destroyed and even if they did manage to kill it, they would be too exhausted to face the other two racing towards that position. Right now with both of them in perfect condition it would be better to take on the weaker Juniors and prevent all the dragon balls from being gathered. At the very least they could stall long enough for Trunks to prevail over Cell.

It would be difficult to get to the two Juniors in time, given how fast they were flying, but if they teleported to the right location at the right time...

"There."

And all of a sudden they were in front of two rapidly braking Cell Juniors, both with dragon balls held over their heads. The two had childlike expressions of confusion that on any other beings would have inspired Shin to some sympathy. But he had seen just how vicious childish monsters could be.

The Juniors bared their teeth, exchanging anxious glances at each other before looking past Shin and Kibito. It was clear they meant to bypass the challenge entirely.

"No you won't." Shin declared, sweeping his arm through the air. "Your fight is with us now."

"Rrrr," the Cell Junior's lip hitched in irritation, then it dashed past Shin only for Kibito to appear before it instantly with his arm extended threateningly. It halted right in front of his barrel chest, and looked him up and down. Then it sneered and threw the dragon ball straight up. It's companion, sensing what was about to come looked Shin in the eyes and sneered, aura bursting to life.

The Junior facing Kibito threw a punch at his chin that landed with a resounding _**Crack**_ , angling it's body sideways for a machine gun series of kicks to his abdomen, each one causing spittle to fly out of the god's mouth before it spun around and backhanded him away. Shin's opponent rushed at him with it's tiny legs extended, kicking and swiping with it's legs at lightning speeds, the Supreme Kai barely able to block the impacts, each one rattling his bones as they struck. The Junior had a malicious smile on its face as it watched its enemy struggle to keep up with its pace, drawing its legs back as if for a more powerful kick. Shin crossed both arms in order to block it, only to see a blue glow in front of him as it threw it's legs out.

"Kamehameha!"

The focused beam of ki collided with his hastily and ill-prepared guard, lifting him off his feet and carrying him away hundreds of meters and through a grove of trees. Shin grit his teeth to ignore the heat burning at his forearms, doing his best to resist the need to take his arms away from the source of pain. The attack faded and he was left in the guard stance he had assumed, the sleeves of his shirt burned away as a result of the attack that had left small burns criss-crossed over his skin. He looked up from behind his crossed arms, lowering them to some relief and saw the Junior snickering back at him.

 _These damn creatures might as well be as strong as Cell. How am I supposed to defeat one on my own?_

He looked towards Kibito, who seemed to have found his footing after the Junior's initial assault. He was locked in a deadly dance with the blue fiend, blocking, dodging and counter attacking as fast as he could while the Junior did the same with a smile on its face. Occasionally the dragon ball would fall from the air and it would tap it back up into the air without missing a beat. The opening wasn't even open long enough for Kibito to be able to capitalise on it.

 _These things are too strong for either of us to defeat alone. If we worked together we could handle one, but then they would just team up as well. I fear that would look even worse for us._

 _No. I will have to find a way to beat it using my own strength. Kibito is skilled in his own right, I am certain he will find a way to triumph as well._

"It's not over yet!" Shin yelled, raising his hands, blue energy emerging in front of him. The Cell Junior rotated and set the dragon ball onto the ground, sitting on it with its head while crossing its arms and legs.

Shin ignored the blatant mockery and pulled his arms back, letting the blue orb float in the air for a moment before he thrust it forward with a mighty yell.

"Take this!"

The ki orb split apart, firing dozens of smaller blasts at the Junior in a hail of energy that stunned the imp to see. The blasts all converged on the Junior's location, making its eyes widen in fear as the energy balls came within seconds of pelting its skin.

 _ **WHOOOOSH**_

A medium sized cloud of dirt and smoke blew back from where the Junior had been seated, concealing it and the dragon ball from sight as Shin's attack found it's mark. The Supreme Kai lowered his arms, satisfied that his attack had been of some use and simply willing to recover the energy used while he could.

A pulse broke through the cloud and blew it away completely, revealing the Cell Junior sitting the right way up on the dragon ball, looking cross. It narrowed its beady eyes at Shin, snarling as it stood up from its makeshift seat, golden energy alighting its frame and consuming the orange orb it stood on as well.

Shin fought the impulse to gulp as the Junior let out a high pitched cry and blasted off at him, one arm held in front of it to guard with the other pulled back in preparation for a powerful blow. The Junior swung forward as it entered reach, the force behind the blow generating a wind tunnel that split apart the few trees that had remained standing around Shin. Its fist found no purchase however, as it faded through an After-Image, leaving it to stare perplexed at where its target should have been.

Shin materialised behind the blue construct, knife hand aimed at the back of its neck. His strike forced the Junior's neck to bend forwards around the edge of his hand, and it let out an all too childlike screech as pain flowed from the impact point. Shin didn't hesitate to slam his left palm into its back as hard he could, forcing as much energy as he could into the blow to leave it paralysed. As soon as his hand struck the Junior's armour the energy diffused through its small frame, causing it to seize up. He wasn't sure if it would last, so he took the opportunity of a helpless opponent to strike it a few more times in the back of the head and spine as much as he could, each attack delivered with as much strength as he could muster. Finally he delivered a powerful kick that sent the Cell Junior flying into the sky. White energy flowed around him as he soared up to catch it mid-flight, fist aimed at its torso.

He found his punch arrested of all momentum as a small white palm appeared in its path faster than he had seen it move, leaving him agape. The Junior let out an evil cackle as it dove forward and head-butt him in the stomach, forcing him to gag as the miniature head was driven almost into his spine. The Supreme Kai gasped and clutched at his stomach, attempting to protect it and soothe the immense pain as best he could. The Cell Junior looked thoughtful and turned back to where it had left the dragon ball, seeing its brother still busy fighting Kibito. It turned back to Shin with an even more openly sinister look than it had displayed before and raised its finger to its head, purple and yellow sparks spiking from the point of contact.

"Makankosappo!"

Shin saw the attack coming entirely too late. He had just started to throw himself to the side when the beam of light tore through his left sternum, leaving him stunned as a cold feeling rushed through his body too quickly after the burning heat of the attack. Looking down he saw the hole opened in his chest and the blood flowing from it. He held his shaking and bloodstained left hand up to his face to confirm what he was seeing, the horror of it overtaking his rational mind.

"N-no," he uttered, horrified at the sight of his blood coating his fingers, "I can't fail like this..."

What he thought mattered less and less as blackness crept at the edge of his vision and the will holding him up disappeared as the strain of just breathing became insurmountable. The Junior chuckled and put both hands up at the sides of its head, sticking its tongue out at him.

"You lose!" It exclaimed before appearing above him and kicking him down, spiking him into a new crevice on Namek's surface.

 _Trunks, Kibito, I'm sorry. You'll have to go on without me._

Those were his last thoughts as he watched the Cell Junior take off towards its brother in a golden streak, the darkness of the underground being swallowed as the darkness behind his eyes claimed him.

 **-Kibito-**

"No! Master!" He shouted, seeing the limp body of the Supreme Kai careen out of the sky. He tried to get away from the Cell Junior only for it to speed in front of him with a kick aimed at his jaw, forcing him to jump back to avoid it. He had been fine with keeping the thing occupied as long as possible in accordance with his master's plan, but now that his master was in danger, he had to get past it!

"I can no longer sense my master's energy, which means I am done entertaining you!" Kibito yelled, forcibly powering up in a second. The sudden force made the Cell Junior pause, which Kibito immediately seized on. His fist clad in glowing energy slammed the Junior's jaw upward, his second punch blowing it into the air where he dashed after it, ramming his knee into its stomach to send it flying up further. He appeared next to it to knock it forward through the air before flipping over and kicking it into the dirt.

 _That won't keep it for long, but I need to get to the Supreme Kai!_

Kibito rushed to the place that could not be allowed to become his master's grave, body straining as he pushed all his Ki into pushing his speed as far as possible. Just as he was about to reach the jagged scar where his master's body lay, a Cell Junior appeared in front of him. He couldn't tell if it was the one he had left in the dirt or the one that had been fighting his master, but it didn't matter. It was an obstacle, and it had to be removed.

"HYAAA!"

He shot his hand forwards, blue light arcing through it before firing off in a wide beam that swallowed up the Cell Junior. Kibito swerved over the glowing conflagration and doubled his speed, desperation pushing him beyond his normal limits.

He made it to the edge of the cracked earth, just close enough see Shin slumped and half buried by soil before he felt an immense force impact his side. He hit the ground hard enough to make it splinter around him, his cry of pain muffled by the soil filling his lungs. He felt himself be yanked out of his hole, and left to awkwardly stumble to his feet.

"You broke my arm," Kibito spat, holding his dangling limb close to his body as he glared balefully at the pouting Cell Junior. The pain radiating from the cracked bone was quite real, but by no means daunting. While the blue imp may have thought he was just holding onto his broken arm out of pain, he was priming to heal it. "You look like children but you're all monsters, the same as Cell."

 _We paid for underestimating your father's abilities before. It's time for you creatures to learn the danger of underestimating us._

Golden waves rippled over his arm, healing it back into top condition. Kibito clenched the fist and grimaced, building energy up in his left arm before leaping forward and striking the surprised Cell Junior in the face. The Junior's head reeled back, expression contorting in pain. Kibito threw his right fist at it, unleashing a kiai that sent it tumbling backwards. He struck out with his left hand, shooting out another ki pulse to carry the Junior away at even greater speed. He scanned the environment for the second one, finding it nowhere to be seen. That was odd, but not his most imminent concern.

Without a second thought he jumped into the crevice that held the Supreme Kai. Acting as quickly as he could he knelt down and spread his hands over his fallen friend's body, willing his healing abilities to work as fast as they could. Golden light illuminated the dark fissure as the waves of light washed over the Supreme Kai, yet his body didn't stir.

"Come on!" Kibito yelled, voice cracking, "This has to work! You can't leave me yet! Please master, get up!"

An explosion rocked the earth, sending a few pebbles falling down around them. By now any injury should have been healed ten times over, yet no sign of life was visible form the Supreme Kai. Kibito refused to accept what this meant, refusing to allow the tears any chance to escape while there was still a chance that his master could be brought back from death's domain.

"Get up!"

"Kibito?"

Relief like nothing he had ever felt greeted Kibito as he heard his master speak his name, lip's mumbling like someone who has just awoken from a deep sleep. The Supreme Kai slumped forwards, displacing a lot of the dirt that had settled on him.

"Master, you are alive!" Kibito beamed, sitting back and basking in the sight of Shin pushing himself out of his would-be grave. The revived Kaioshin looked over his arms, enjoying the sight of his unblemished skin. "I knew these little devils wouldn't be enough to claim the life of the Supreme Kai!"

Shin smiled and stood up, looked into the glimmer of green sky shining into the fissure. His smile shrank and his face hardened into steel. Kibito looked up to see what had cut short his master's joy, though he already suspected the answer.

A Cell Junior hovered there, snickering to itself as it looked down at the two of them. A red and black orb was suspended over its fingertip, flickering with dark currents of energy.

"Whatever happens next Kibito, I want you to know that I always treasured your service." Shin said, not taking his eyes off the Junior for a moment. "If I should fall again in combat, don't revive me."

"Master?"

"You are far too valuable to risk yourself for me. As strong as these Cell Juniors may be, Trunks was able to eliminate five of them at once. He is far more important to stopping Babidi's plans than I am. And you will be far more helpful to him than I could be."

"Master, that's just not true!" Kibito exclaimed, almost pleadingly as he inched towards Shin, reached out for him with one arm.

Shin ignored him, keeping his vision trained. "If I die, I order you to do whatever it takes to assist Trunks." He glanced away from the Cell Junior, smiling at Kibito "though hopefully it won't come to that."

The Cell Junior, having tired of their talk, swung it's finger down in an arc and launched the attack at them. Shin's lip curled up, a pale aura firing around him as he put up a nearly transparent barrier. Kibito moved to mimic his master's stance, forming a barrier of his own and combining it with the Supreme Kai's to form a gleaming barrier of almost crystalline light.

"Together!"

Shin yelled as the dark orb neared the shield, mohawk surging as if in a strong wind as he powered up to his maximum, white aura blazing around him before merging with the shield. Kibito let out a yell and followed suit, his own aura firing alongside Shin's before fusing with it and empowering the shield. As soon as the attack hit the barrier, a wave of concussive force blasted outwards that decimated the terrain and transformed the crevice they had been standing in into the edge of a kilometre wide crater. Kibito and Shin yelled louder, using as much of their energy as possible to stop the attack as it steadily pushed against their defence, jagged bolts of black lightning shooting from its face as it ground away at their shield. With a final cry the edge of the barrier broke into a wave of solid white ki that swept the sphere away, robbing it of much of its destructive energy and sending it flying into the upper atmosphere. The detonation that followed darkened the sky for a few seconds before the trio of suns overpowered the gloom.

The Cell Junior stared at the place where its blast had detonated, disbelief plain on its pale face. It looked down, only to find both the Supreme Kai and Kibito in front of it, fists pulled back. It had a moment to panic before twin fists drove into its skull, shattering its perception and leaving it helpless to stop the storm of blows that assaulted its diminutive body. Neither Shin nor Kibito spoke, yet they coordinated their attacks perfectly to leave the child of Cell reeling and unable to catch its bearings, being struck in a different place every second. The relentless torrent of blows didn't cease for a good five minutes, leaving the Cell Junior to dangle lifelessly in the air as both Kaioshin backed away, panting at the effort they had put into their onslaught.

"We have to destroy it now, before it recovers," Shin stated, blue ki swirling around his hands. Kibito nodded and raised his hands up over his head, clasping them together, white sparks aggregating around them. The whine of their auras hit a new crescendo as they threw their hands out in unison, firing a unified wave of teal energy at the immobilised Junior.

Right before the wave of energy hit it the Junior disappeared from its path, reappeared a few dozen meters away.

"Ha ha! You can't catch me!" Cell Junior sung, dancing from side to side, enjoying the startled look on Shin's face as the attack went sailing to nowhere. Two strong arms closing over its torso stopped its laughter.

"Huh?"

The Junior looked up to see Kibito sternly looking back down at it, tightening his hold on its body.

"It's not so simple to escape the judgement of the gods."

Kibito vanished, taking the terrified Junior with him into the path of the combined beam. He let go as soon as was in its path, teleporting back to the Supreme Kai in an instant. The split second between letting go of the Junior and returning was just enough to see it be engulfed screaming by the attack however.

Shin had lowered himself to the ground and was resting his hands on his knees, sucking in air when Kibito reappeared at his side. While he did not allow himself to show it, he was just as exhausted as his master was. The effort taken to destroy just one of the mini-Cells was daunting, destroying the second would be impossible if they didn't recover their energy first.

 _The second Junior!_

"Master, do you see any signs of the other Cell Junior, any at all!"

Shin opened his mouth as if to ask why, but the significance of the question struck him before he had time to voice his question. His eyes urgently swept the area, tracing every nook and cranny for a sign of Cell's progeny, or the dragon balls.

"It's gone." He breathed, too tired to properly express the urgency he felt.

"And so are the dragon balls." Kibito chimed in, teleporting next to the Supreme Kai again. He appeared more tired than he had been just moments ago, the strain of rapid teleportation compounding that of the battle they had just waged.

"Then we have failed." Shin sighed, standing up straight and looking grimly in the direction of the Cell Junior's energy. It was close to the Namekian village where the rest of the dragon balls were gathered, which meant it was close to the strongest one of their brood. The only hope they had of stopping it was if they **immediately** attacked it, and in their condition that was a death sentence. And one that wouldn't even take the Junior a minute to execute if it desired.

"Not yet. Not while we draw breath." Kibito answered, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "For a wish to be made the dragon needs to be summoned first, and it will grant the wish of whomever speaks first. To disrupt Babidi's plan we just need patience, and to strike at the precise moment the dragon is summoned."

"You are right Kibito, forgive me for giving up hope so soon." Shin replied. He relaxed his shoulders, summoning a chair that he fell into. "We should restore our energy before our next move. I'm just as likely to fall in battle as I am to fall asleep."

Kibito huffed at the joke and held out his hand to his master, willing the healing energy to emanate once more. Their role as warriors was done for now. It would be up to them to cut the head off the snake if Trunks failed to stop Cell. Though whether that meant dealing with Babidi or the Cell Juniors depended on time alone. How long it took them to return to fighting shape versus how long it took for the dragon to be summoned, or how long it took for Trunks to kill Cell.

 **-Babidi-**

 _Well Cell's done for. That Trunks really is something else if he was able to overpower someone enhanced with my Majin spell. If he wasn't such a heroic fool he'd be a good replacement for Dabura._

Whatever he thought about Trunks was irrelevant though, the warrior was busy bleeding to death in a slowly flooding valley. Now that the Supreme Kai wasn't breathing down his neck he could perform his scrying spells in peace, and he'd been treated to quite the show on Namek. Cell may have been gone, but the energy he had collected from Trunks had been enough to greatly hasten Majin Buu's revival. In fact, it looked like they wouldn't even need to use the Dragon Balls. The dial wasn't at 100% yet, but if he could get his hands on a few of those Cell Jrs littering the place then it would be a done deal.

But there was no reason to drain the Juniors while they still had their uses. Even if he didn't need the wish for Buu, it would still be nice to have one. Being the Emperor of the Universe would be good, but immortal as well would be even better.

The only two who could have interfered with him were busy resting in what had been a prime piece of Namekian agriculture, about as useful as cold dinner.

"Oh if I were one of those no-brain all-brawn types I'd go over there myself and beat them to a pulp! It would serve them right for killing my father."

Babidi glared at the image of the Supreme Kai and Kibito for a moment longer before switching to the most important Cell Junior, the one that had been left to guard the Dragon Ball collection. Yes, he couldn't directly violate its mind because of the strong bond it had to Cell but what if he were able to convince it that doing what he wanted was what Cell wanted? Then he'd be able to get what he wanted without even leaving his seat!

"What the hell, it's not like the brat could do anything to me anyway."

"Paparapapa!"

The Junior startled and looked around as it felt the foreign presence in its mind.

' _Dad, is that you?'_

' _No child, it is I, Babidi. I'm a friend of your father's.'_

' _Yeah, I remember you. Whaddya want?'_

' _Well, I was just wondering what Cell told you to wish for once you have all the Dragon Balls?'_

' _Oh, um, he didn't say. I'm supposed to just stop anyone from getting these and wait till he gets back.'_

' _Hmm. I hate to say it but Cell's very busy at the moment, and you're brother is going to reach you before he gets back. Time is of the essence, and you can't afford to sit on your hands with all the enemies you have.'_

' _I guess so.'_

' _Yes it is. And since the only reason you're on Namek is to revive Majin Buu, that should be what you wish for.'_

' _I don't know, dad might want something else.'_

' _Cell and I are working together on this, so we want the same things. I sent him to Namek to revive Buu, that means it's your job too!'_

' _Ok, ok, geez. You don't have to yell.'_

' _Sorry, I just hate it when people are_ _ **stubborn**_ _. Now, I'll help you out with a bit of extra power. Don't worry, this will only hurt a bit.'_

Light flashed in Babidi's crystal ball as the Junior's aura erupted from it and it cried in pain. A white M burned itself into its forehead before the process ended and it was left hunched over and gasping for air.

Babidi smiled and turned away from the ball, content that everything would proceed according to plan at least for the next few minutes. He was facing the wrinkled brown shell that held Majin Buu, which was almost beating with potential energy. It was almost as if the entity within anticipated its imminent release. He took a step forward and placed his hand on the rough surface of the pod, imaging what the most powerful being in history, his birthright, would look like.

"Soon Buu. So very soon you will be free, and nothing will be able to stop us!"

 **-Trunks-**

The pleasant dream he'd been in the middle of as forgotten in the few seconds before he woke up. Kibito greeted him with a smile, and as he looked to his left he saw Shin looking at him with relief.

"Thank goodness. With all the blood you lost we weren't sure if it would be possible to revive you in time." Shin said, grinning at Kibito. "It's a good thing you've had practice bringing others from the brink."

"Yes master." Kibito's smile soured uncomfortably as he leaned away from Trunks.

"Thanks guys, I'd definitely be dead without you." Trunks said, before leaping up in shock. Kibito and Shin both fell back in surprise, but Trunks' attention wasn't on them. It was on his right hand, which was back in place and felt as though it had never left.

"My arm... How?"

"I've had thousands of years to perfect my healing magic. Restoring a lost limb is more difficult than promoting the body's natural recovery, but it can be done." Kibito explained, the precursor to a confident smile tugging at his lips. "I was unable to fully restore your energy because of it, but as soon as I've regained my own it will be trivial to do so."

"That's great!" Trunks exclaimed before a frown stole over his happy features, "Wait, what about Cell? Did you two move the Dragon Balls like I asked?"

Shin looked down at his hands in silence which was enough to fill Trunks in before he spoke.

"We almost managed to, after defeating one of the Cell Juniors. But the one that was left took both balls to the stronger one in the village. We were going to try and disrupt the wish, but after we sensed your ki vanish we knew we had to save you."

Trunks sighed. It wasn't enough that he had to deal with Cell, Majin Buu could be revived at any moment on top of it. He didn't know if Majin Buu was all he was cracked up to be, but he'd rather not find out.

"As for Cell, we haven't sensed his energy at all. It's possible you killed him with that attack you fired."

"If only it were that easy." Trunks grimaced. "He's probably lowered his power level to sneak around, but I have no idea why he'd do it after he'd beaten me. Cell's not the type to stay quiet after winning. Still, while he's not doing anything we can go after the Juniors."

"If I may ask," Kibito started, tone making it clear that he was going to ask anyway, "How was Cell able to get the upper hand? Even after we sensed Babidi's magic take hold, you were still superior."

Trunks paused, struggling to put into words the plan he had devised during his year of training with Gohan. In the end he sighed and decided to tell to them as bluntly as he could.

"I knew if I showed Cell that I was stronger than him but not so strong that he couldn't try to catch up that he'd try something stupid. In the past he used a form that bulked him up at the cost of speed, and when Gohan hit him he puked up android 18. I was counting on him doing the same thing here so that I could reduce his strength as much as possible before killing him. I wanted to get him down to his initial form so that there'd be no chance of him coming back, like he did after he self-destructed."

Trunks ran his hand through his hair as he pictured the hideous bulging form of Cell laughing at them all as he prepared to detonate.

"Babidi screwed that up, but before I could cut my losses and just try hitting him with everything I had he used something called the 'Kaioken' to overpower me."

Shin's mouth fell open as Trunks finished, and he glanced at Kibito, "The Kaioken? Isn't that the technique of the North Kai?"

"I believe it is. How did Cell learn the technique?" Kibito asked back at him, the two looking worried at each other.

"Probably the same way he learned all his moves." Trunks shrugged, "We should get going before they summon the dragon... or Cell comes back."

White and blue energy covered Trunks as he lifted off of what could have been his watery grave. He paused a moment to give Kibito and Shin time to join him before they sped off towards the location of the Dragon Balls. Interestingly enough, Trunks was finding it hard to keep up with both gods as they flew. He hadn't thought they were that strong to begin with, but clearly he'd underestimated them.

 _They were able to destroy a Cell Junior._

He reminded himself as the ruined Namekian village came within sight. Two juniors were standing next to each other, the assembled dragon balls between them. The strong one was easily identified by the column of golden light shining around it that rippled with electricity. Trunks wondered how it had gotten so strong even compared to all the other Juniors, but the answer was clear as they landed across from it and saw the italicised M branded onto its core.

"So Babidi's not above offering candy to kids. You weren't kidding about how despicable he was." Trunks said. His fingers were closed around the hilt of the Z-sword as he ascended past Super Saiyan. The other Cell Junior took a step back in fear, while the Majin kept chuckling.

 _They just get more and more cocky. But that's not my problem._

Light flashed off the blade as he swung it through the air, jumping forward to catch both Juniors in the swing. Both were bisected, but while the weaker one cried out in pain, the Majin Junior swiftly placed its fingers on its head and gathered energy.

"Makankosappo!"

"Look out!" The Supreme Kai yelled as the beam flashed through the space between the Junior and Trunks. He needn't have bothered as the attack went through empty space as Trunks appeared behind it with his sword aimed at its head. It turned around, both legs popping back as Trunks struck down, wide-eyed and yelling.

"That's enough." Cell said, holding the blade in his hands.

Trunks gasped at Cell's sudden arrival, and Kibito and Shin immediately tensed. The Cell Junior that had been spared scurried backward with a grin.

"I didn't expect to see you so soon, or at all." Cell said, forcing the blade back up towards Trunks before letting go. "That must be the work of one of your friends, obviously. I'm starting to wonder how long you'd last without someone cleaning up after you."

 _This is bad. Without my full power I don't stand a chance if he decides to use the Kaioken again._

"And Junior, you're doing well for yourself. Hmm, I didn't think you'd be able to heal yourself. It looks like I was right about Babidi's spell." Cell remarked, then turned his attention to the Junior lying on the ground without legs. It was whimpering in pain and looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

Cell narrowed his gaze and sent twin red beams through its head, killing it instantly. As it slumped back he looked to his audience, who were a mixed of shocked and disgusted.

"What? I don't have any need for a useless child. Besides, I have more."

At that moment Trunks' ki sense alerted him before dozens of Cell Juniors appeared around them. He braced himself and his sword as he stared at the rows of jeering pale blue faces, covering his shock with resolve.

"They were going to help me in case Buu proved as difficult as you were, but now I think they'll make a good obstacle course for you. And naturally, if you lose, you die." Cell said with a smirk.

"What, not going to fight me yourself?" Trunks asked, almost yelling. It was too out of character for Cell to refuse a fight, there had to be something going on. And whenever there was something with Cell it was never good.

"If you were at full power you might be worth it, a threat even. But as you are now it would be beneath me." Cell said over his shoulder as he walked away from Trunks, "To make sure you _don't_ become a threat, I'm going to kill one of the Kaioshin. Or both, but since Kibito is clearly doing the all the work I should start with him."

"No!" Trunks yelled, dashing forwards and slashing at Cell, only for it to cleave through the after-image, and a new Cell Junior to appear in its place and kick him in the nose. His head jerked back slightly, but before he could retaliate the whole swarm of them descended on him, punching and kicking at every exposed place on his body.

Trunks kicked one expecting it to explode, but instead it just went flying back through one of the tall buildings, another two taking its place and scratching at his eyes with their claws.

 _These are way stronger than the ones from before!_

With the thick crowd of Juniors on him he wasn't even able to get enough space to swing the Z-Sword, and had to drop it to free up his arms to punch and counter some of the attacks. It was when a wall of Kamehamehas slammed into him from behind that he realised just how much danger he was in. The Juniors were playful now, but if they got serious there was nothing stopping them from injuring him the same way Cell had.

 _I'm sorry Kibito, you need to hold off Cell until I can find my way out of this._

 **-Cell-**

Finding himself in the middle of a cloud of barren rocks in space hadn't been an outcome Cell had predicted after first setting foot on Namek, but it was infinitely better than being reduced to ashes as he had feared after the golden blast had torn into him. What had been left of him had been his head, a sliver of his torso and pieces of his legs. It wasn't much, but so long as his core survived there was no limit to what he could endure.

Best of all, it had given him time to think. After regenerating from that kind of damage he should have been severely drained, yet he'd been in tip-top shape. Good as new didn't cover it, it was like he'd never been damaged to begin with. While he'd wanted to write it off as luck, he knew there was no such thing. The only explanation could have been Babidi's magic healing his body. He knew that it could enable Babidi's slaves to survive and recover from severe injuries with no consequences, so why couldn't it do the same for him? The fact that he could regenerate just expanded what the magic had to work with. In essence, it meant that Trunks could blast as many holes into him as he wanted, he'd just come back as good as new every time.

It was also why he didn't burn up after using the Kaioken. With his power level it should have been good for only a few seconds before it caused drastic damage to his body, but with Babidi's magic working to fix damage as it happened with his healing factor, the cost of the technique was greatly reduced. He doubted he'd be able to push it as high as he wanted without backlash, but high enough to match Trunks? That was doable.

The throng of Cell Juniors had been to replace the ones Trunks had killed, but after realising that he could recover energy much faster thanks to the Majin spell he'd just gone wild making them. It was a petty indulgence, but one he deserved after triumphing over Trunks. Then he'd sensed the troublesome Saiyan strike at his best child, and needed to intervene. Seeing that Junior regenerate when the others could not had confirmed his theory that Babidi's magic was enhancing their healing powers.

And now, while Trunks was buried in fodder he could take care of perhaps the only important thing on this planet besides himself.

"Kibito, you've been a spanner in the works since the moment we met. You scoffed at me on Kaioshinkai, rescued Trunks after I became Perfect, killed one of my Juniors, and healed Trunks. For just one of those things I'd kill you slowly and painfully. But I'm on the clock, so it'll just have to be painfully."

He lunged forwards with his fist, only for Kibito to vanish from the spot. He was next to Shin a second later, but before he could touch the Supreme Kai, Cell fired a blast at him. He teleported out of the way, as Cell had expected.

When he reappeared on a rock outcropping, Cell was next to him throwing a kick. When he teleported into the sky, Cell was next to him firing a blast. As soon as Kibito appeared again, Cell carpeted the area with ki balls.

"Come on! Stay and fight!"

Kibito materialised into the path of one of the ki balls, unable to teleport in time. In a flash a mushroom cloud rose from his position, seconds before hundreds of others bloomed next to it as the other blasts hit.

Cell leaned back satisfied as he looked over the blasted landscape. The slight vibration in the air behind him let him know that Kibito had survived, and he turned around to face him. The red faced god tried to back away as he found himself looking Cell in the face. Before he could get away Cell's hand closed around his throat. In the next few seconds they jumped from place to place, from Namek to space to what might have been Kaioshinkai. They finally appeared in the middle of the Cell Junior scrum. Trunks was down to one knee and missing his shirt, being pelting with attacks from all sides. Kibito gagged as he tried to say something, which made Cell tighten his hold on his throat.

"Well? Do you have anywhere else in mind? Or is the afterlife your next stop?"

Cell found his hand slipping away from Kibito's neck as a blast struck him in the side of the head, before Trunks flew into him. Cell flew along the ground with Trunks, growling as he corrected his flight path and faced the half-Saiyan again.

"I told you, wait your turn!" Cell yelled and punted Trunks in the face, dropping him to the ground. He rose back to his feet quickly, but from how deeply he was breathing it was clear that he wasn't going to be a challenge.

"Really Trunks? This is how you want to die? At least with the Juniors you have the excuse of being outnumbered." Cell joked, changing into a combat stance Vegeta had once used.

Before he could attack, he sensed the tell-tale feeling of incoming teleportation behind him.

 _How odd. Kibito should have been heading for the hills after the beating I almost gave him. These heroes never know when to quit._

Cell easily leaped out of the way of a beach ball sized yellow orb that came from his back, the orb hitting Trunks square in the chest. Cell grinned as he expected Trunks to go flying, or at least for Kibito to look guilty at hitting one of his team-mates with an attack, but nothing happened. The orb was absorbed into Trunks, doing no damage at all.

 _Oh my god, was he really that weak?_

Cell had to stifle his laughter as he watched Kibito fall to his knees.

"That was... all I had... Good luck Trunks... Wipe out this monster." Kibito breathed before he fell unconscious, hitting the dirt was an unflattering thud.

Trunks looked perplexed before smiling. "Thank you, Kibito. I will."

 _What's he talking about, right now he doesn't hold a candle to-_

Trunks' power quadrupled in size, howling up at Cell as though it were a roaring beast with a mind of its own. The force of it almost pushed him back, but application of the Kaioken was enough to keep him in place. At first. The power pressing him back grew more intense by the second until he had to engage higher and higher Kaioken levels just to stay in place.

Trunks was smirking, hair and aura shining gold as he stood proudly. All the cuts, bruises and burns he'd picked up were gone, his body restored just as his energy was. Cell was taken aback at the sudden resurgence of power in the Saiyan after the attack. It was like he'd been healed, but Kibito had only fired a blast at him. And if he hadn't dodged, it would have...

"Kibito," He snarled, eyes locking on to the passed out deity.

 _You were smarter than I gave you credit for, but this is the_ _ **absolute**_ _last time you interfere!_

He pulled his hand back, forming a green buzzing sphere at the end of his fingers. With a cry of rage he fired the attack at Kibito's helpless body, only for it to be knocked away by Trunks.

"You won't hurt him or anyone else Cell, not while I'm around."

"You're forgetting your place, boy. Or must I remind you again?" Cell said, calm voice barely hiding an ocean of rage as red flames burned around him. Without warning he blazed down at Trunks, arm pulled back for a mighty blow. Before he could reach Trunks he vanished. The tornado of golden light that swallowed up the horde of Cell Juniors alerted him to where he had gone, not that it helped. The Juniors that weren't torn apart or roasted alive by the golden column were soon vaporised by a huge dome of heat that expanded from Trunks and blasted upward, carrying the few survivors with it before incinerating them.

Cell silently flew towards Trunks, who was looking skyward after the remnants of his attack.

"So, we've been going back and forth all day, and I don't know about you but I'm starting to get sick of it all." Cell started, getting a look of muted surprise from Trunks in response. When he wasn't interrupted he continued speaking. "So, why don't we settle this the old fashioned way? A test of our two powers with everything on the line and nothing held back, your strongest attack against mine."

Cell held out his arms and flared his aura for effect, lightning coursing through the crimson waves.

"That's the most fair way we're going to settle this, now that we're both at 100%. We'll be able to see which one of us is truly the best, and aside from the winner takes all aspect there's no way the loser would be able to survive the combined strength of our attacks."

Trunks crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side, looking thoughtful. No doubt he was wondering what Cell had up his sleeve. The answer was great many things, but seeing all his juniors wiped out had erased the last bit of patience he had left.

"Or we can go at it again, and maybe you'll get lucky and hit me with an attack that erases my head, or maybe I'll apply my superior skill and cripple you before ending your life. If that's how you want it, please, attack me. I'm dying to see what I can do with this power."

"Fine, I accept." Trunks said, uncrossing his arms and giving Cell a death glare. "I know you think you've got some kind of ace to get out of this, but I already know all your moves, so I'm not worried. Dying because of your own arrogance is the **perfect** way for a bastard like you to go."

"Shutting you up is going to be the second greatest pleasure I experience in this life." Cell promised. Both he and Trunks blurred out of sight to reappear almost a kilometre away from the village. Whether it was because Cell wanted to keep the dragon balls safe or Trunks wanting to keep the Supreme Kai out of harm's way was difficult to say, but it didn't matter as the two of them entered firing stances.

Cell placed his hands together at his side before opening them, a blue orb filling the space between them. Trunks lifted his arms to his sides and allowed yellow energy to coalesce around his hands. The earth rumbled as energy built up between them, small rocks and large boulders lifting out of the ground as ki filled the air.

"Kame-"

Cell moved his hands further back, the orb growing even larger between them. The sound the attack made as it charged overpowered the din of his aura as his hands were forced apart and spinning beams of light shot out from it.

"-hamhe-"

Trunks let out a yell as the yellow lightning surged and ripped apart the ground around him, leaving him standing on an elevated platform of rock above an empty crater. The raw power shattered the earth around, collapsing it and carving out tunnels that soon had their contents pulled upwards into the sky as the energy neared its peak.

"HA!"

"FINAL FLASH!"

The monstrous Kamehameha wave slammed into the titanic Final Flash with a sound like stars exploding. Whatever semblance of normal terrain there had been disintegrated as the attacks collided and grew together into an incandescent sphere that ate away the ground beneath it and blew away what little was left of the cliffs and Namekian architecture.

Cell was pouring everything he had into the blast, almost blind to the streams of blue energy blowing past him before being sucked back in. He was meeting hard resistant from Trunks, much harder than he had expected. That attack was much stronger than it had any right to be.

"Well done Trunks! It looks like I'll have to turn it up a notch! Times Ten Kaioken!"

The blue aura that covered him inverted to pure red before his Kamehameha doubled in size and forced back the Final Flash. To Cell's disappointment it came to a halt before it could hit Trunks. Even for a Super Saiyan II, this kind of power had to be remarkable. Cell sincerely doubted that even Majin Buu would have this kind of power, with all the hype Babidi had been feeding it.

Cell would have considered pushing up the Kaioken if it weren't for the fact that his arms felt like they were filled with lead and the feeling his ki gave him was of an engine about to overheat. If he brought it any higher or even kept up the Kaioken for much longer, there was a good chance he'd end up blowing all his energy and being left defenceless to Trunks. On the other hand, a single second of doubling his power even more might just be what he needed to drive the nails into Trunks' coffin.

"It's not like I need to rely on it anyway," Cell muttered to himself, ignoring the strain of the attack, "There are other ways of boosting one's power."

He took in a deep breath before yelling, his body growing to gigantic proportions in seconds. This power-weighted form was near useless in actual combat, but when he only needed power it was more than adequate. With a distorted grin he laughed and fired more ki into the blast, the recoil throwing his shoulders back as the Kamehameha encroached even closer to Trunks.

"You think you're the only one who can do that!" Trunks yelled, his own muscles bulging to distorted extremes. The Final Flash started slowly pushing back at the Kamehameha until is was almost half-way between them again. "It's child's play to bulk up your muscles you know!"

 _Stupid boy, I didn't ask for a lecture._

Cell growled, continuing to power the attack. With the Kaioken, the Power-Weighted form and the Majin spell all combined he should have steam rolled over Trunks ages ago. That he was still standing was a very surprising development. In fact, Cell was positive that he hadn't been this strong back when he'd first powered up.

 _Saiyans get stronger after almost dying, that must be it. Yet I've been regenerating all day and I didn't have nearly this jump in power! It's not fair, I'm the perfect specimen of his wretched species!_

"HAAAAAAA!"

The Final Flash suddenly started pushing back at Cell, forcing his Kamehameha wave back to only a few meters ahead of him. This jolted Cell out of his thoughts and he hastily pumped more energy into it, bringing it back to where it had been.

"It's not that easy Trunks! You won't catch me asleep at the wheel!" Cell bellowed, voice almost gutturally deep thanks to his bulked up form.

 _This stalemate can't go on forever, and I won't let it!_

' _Junior! Time to put yourself to good use, come help your father take out the trash.'_

' _Yes Father.'_

Cell didn't have the freedom to dwell on how strange that Junior sounded as he forced more ki into the blast, only to find Trunks doing the same and keeping it at a deadlock between them.

"Just a little more Trunks and you'll be pushing up daisies! You should feel privileged! Most Saiyans died without a fight, you get to die facing the Perfect weapon!"

 **-Babidi-**

"This is getting exciting." He squealed, watching the clash between Cell and Trunks with glee. He had over 90% of the energy to revive Buu, and no matter which way this turned out he still had one viable pawn to get it to 100%. The Cell Junior he'd had guard the Dragon Balls while the others dog piled the Saiyan. It was still keeping watch over them, in fact they'd been about to make their wish before Trunks had shown up with the meddling gods and ruined things – again.

Seeing Kibito sleeping in the dirt was a moment so good Babidi hadn't even known he'd wanted it. The only thing that could match it would be seeing the Supreme Kai die, but that rat was hiding himself very well.

' _All right Junior! It's time to make our wish.'_

' _I can't do it right now, Dad wants me to make a wish.'_

Babidi almost recoiled as he heard _disobedience_ coming from one of his thralls. Indeed, the blue child was flying to the sight of the beam battle between Trunks and Cell as they spoke.

' _Forget it, you need to make that wish! You're far more useful doing that than helping out in some shooting contest.'_

' _But, Dad told me to come help him.'_

Babidi growled and grabbed the sides of the crystal ball.

' _Who gave you this power, me or Cell? He doesn't care about you! You saw how he murdered your brother right in front of you!'_

' _He was weak, he didn't deserve to live.'_

' _And neither would you if it wasn't for me! Or are you forgetting that it's my power that restored your body?'_

There was only silence from the other end of the mental link, which Babidi took as a good sign. It wasn't arguing. But the Junior was still flying towards Trunks.

' _Did you miss how he shredded the rest of you? What do you think you're going to do against that kind of power huh, now, go make that wish!'_

' _Babidi, what the hell are you telling my son!"_

Babidi froze as he heard the third voice in his mind. It wasn't possible... That couldn't have been Cell.

' _Cell? Is that... how much did you hear?'_

' _Enough to hear what I'm very sure sounds like mutiny. Now forget about that stupid wish, I need my Junior's help killing Trunks.'_

' _Forget the wish? That's why you went to that stupid planet! To revive Buu, remember?'_

' _Who cares about Buu! I will get you all the energy I need after I'm through with Trunks, do you understand me? Or do I need to come after you next to make my point?'_

Babidi snarled and glared into the crystal, now focusing on Cell.

' _The only reason you've lasted so long is because of me! If I take away my magic, where does that leave you?'_

' _You wouldn't.'_

' _I wouldn't?'_

Babidi shifted his focus back the Junior, who was standing and sweating behind Trunks.

' _Now, get out of there and back the wish,_ _ **my**_ _wish, DO IT!'_

' _N-No!'_

"What!" Babidi exclaimed, now utterly disbelieving of what he was seeing. He saw the Cell Junior raise its fingers to its forehead and charge an attack of some sort, and from the bit of view he had he saw Trunks turn around in panic.

"Enough of this! I'm through with Cell! He's the reason Dabura's dead, he's why I'm stuck on this planet, and he has the nerve to threaten me after asking for my help? I think he needs a lesson in manners."

"Makankosappo!" Majin Cell Junior yelled, swinging its finger forward for the second time. This time the attack was much stronger, and Trunks didn't have the ability to dodge.

Trunks cringed, anticipating the wound, yet was surprised when it only penetrated his shoulder. He looked behind him to see the Majin Junior looking startled... and the Supreme Kai standing between them with a gaping hole in his chest. A turquoise shield was around him, but there was a hole that matched where the beam had entered and exited, that matched where it had been redirected to hit Trunks as well.

"Huh, I don't know why I thought it would go better the second time." Shin said, laughing before a thick glob of blood forced its way out of his throat. He turned to Trunks and gave a carefree smile, even as he started quivering uncontrollably. "Sorry I couldn't divert it all the way Trunks."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to assist you any longer." He said, and before Trunks could respond he fell backwards.

"No!"

"YES!" Babidi whooped, jumping out of his seat. The view in the crystal was zoomed in on the Supreme Kai's face, empty eyes staring into the void. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Babidi was so elated he did a merry jig around the crystal ball, a jig that ended once he saw something that elevated what had been an awesome moment into the single best day of his life. The meter of Majin Buu's energy was full.

"Oh my." He whispered, falling back onto his seat as he realised what he'd accomplished. The revival of Majin Buu was at hand. The entirety of his life's work, the entirety of his father's work, it was all about to come to fruition. Majin Buu would be reborn!

 _Looks like I don't need Cell anymore._

With a malicious sneer Babidi spun around and placed his hands over the crystal, concentrating on Cell Junior and the energy that connected them. Before he had only awoken the Junior's power and had slowly been easing away the mental barrier's that existed by talking to it. But now there was no more need for subtlety.

"PAPARAPAPAR!"

The Junior cried out in pain as the M on its forehead burned red. The force of it powering up shook Trunks, and made the Final Flash give a few centimetres of ground.

"Now my puppet, attack with everything you have!"

The Majin Cell Junior, in too much pain to even think about what it was doing reacted the same way as anything in pain. It lashed out.

' _Babidi! What are you doing!'_

' _I'm sorry Cell, but this is the end of our partnership. If you have issues with it, you tell it to King Enma.'_

"No." Cell whispered, fear filling his eyes as he realised what would happen. Lightning whipped up a storm around him as he powered up as far as he could, before screaming at the top of his lungs.

"KAIOKEN TIMES TWENTY!"

The entire Kamehameha turned blood red as it broke through the Final Flash like it had never been there. Trunks barely had time to marvel at the attack before the Cell Junior's energy struck him from behind. Almost in slow motion he fell forwards, looking stunned as the ground approached him, turning from golden tinted to hellish red.

Cell's arms burst apart and the front of his chest exploded red ki as the Majin spell failed to fix the internal damage, then was withdrawn completely. The red tide stopped as it was robbed of energy, only a paper thin façade of the Final Flash holding out. Then Majin Junior's blast struck it, and slowly the massive clump of energy began grinding back, flashing from red to blue then to white.

"No, this can't be happening!" Cell said, voice hoarse as he stared at his oncoming destruction. "I am Perfect!"

The wave of ki carried Cell with it like a tsunami, speeding up as it went further and further away from its source. He didn't have hands to try and hold off the blast, so he tried to brace his knees against it to keep it from consuming him before it detonated. It didn't help as within seconds his legs dissolved, and the hollow exterior of his torso started to break away in pieces.

"I AM PERFECT!"

Cell's scream went unheard in the depths of the space as the blast ate away at his head, leaving only a single eye staring with terror before it vanished, and the huge ball of ki went supernova. A second sun lit up in space for a few seconds, melting the few nearby asteroids into slag and shattering the crust of a dwarf planet and its moon into dust.

The explosion even reached Namek, sending up gale force winds and pushing coasts into the oceans as they swelled and flooded kilometres inland. The Majin Junior was knocked down as the powerful wind struck it, and the fragile ground gave way to expose the glowing mantle.

Babidi smirked and folded his hands behind his back. He let out a few sinister chuckles to himself before letting full blown hysterical laughter escape his throat as he watched the red lights flash around Buu's pod. Geysers of steam were blowing out of its pores as it glowed on the pedestal.

"Yes that's it! Wake up Majin Buu! Wake up and reclaim your place as terror of the universe!"

Pink light cut vertically through the sphere, splitting the brown sphere into two halves before it fell open.

* * *

 **New AN: Why the reupload? Well when I was writing chapter 10 I realised a lot of what I wanted to do would be better as part of chapter nine. So I folded it in, and I think it worked out pretty well! I can't tell you the number of times I rewrote the Trunks vs Cell scenes, or how hard it was to decide on this ending.**

 _Old AN: What you're looking at is the last quarter of the last chapter, all of chapter nine and the first quarter of the next chapter. My writing and my outline seem to be going through a divorce. This chapter was supposed to come out next week but putting my fridays to good use got it done early. Progress!_

 _The reason why some technique names are using their dubbed versions and others aren't can be squarely blamed on me being very used to one translation but thinking the other sounds less stupid. I'd like to mix and match but that doesn't always work (looking at you Makankosappo)._

 _Guests:_

 _Cellza: You really think I wrote a fanfic, called it Perfect Future and set it up so Cell would lose? Lol. I've come really far from the original concept but not that far!_

 _Luke: Thanks! I'm sure that Cell is grateful that he doesn't have to tag along with Babidi for however long that would take._


	10. The Terrible Majin Buu

**Chapter 10: The Terrible Majin Buu**

Shin woke up from his nightmare, blinking against the light of his new surroundings. Marble tiles, kanji inscribed walls, a towering mahogany desk with reams of paperwork teetering on it and the bearded giant sitting behind it.

 _Lord Enma's office... so it's true._

He had known when moving to defend Trunks that he'd die, he'd accepted it. But being here, the reality of it all struck with a force harder than any of Cell's spawn. All at once the weight of _everything_ crashed down upon him. Babidi, Buu, Cell... he'd failed to stop any of them. Worse, he'd _helped_ one of them. If it hadn't been for him Cell never would have found the androids, never reached his perfect form, never become another tool for Babidi to use.

 _It's all my fault._ Shin collapsed onto the floor, not caring about the worried eyes on him as despair clawed at his hear, _Daikaio sacrificed himself for me and I failed!_

Dark memories of that day assaulted his mind's eye, memories he'd kept locked up for aeons. The first stab of horror when he'd heard that North and West Kaioshin had died, then the assault of fear as Bibidi appeared with the monster warped in South's image, the terror as he faced death and the final pleading desperation as he watched the Daikaioshin be absorbed into the pink abomination.

 _All that time and I've done the best I could to honour their memory, their sacrifice, and it all amounted to nothing! One of them should have been the one's to survive Buu, not me!_

"Uh, excuse me, Supreme Kai, are you alright? I don't mean to be insensitive but we have quite a lot to discuss. You didn't leave a successor behind so we'll have to sort out a policy before your soul is-"

"Enma, has anyone named Cell passed through here?"

The ogre was left open mouthed in shock at the interruption before collected himself and looking to the side at an assistant. The normal sized ogre mimed the words no while shaking his head, and Enma cleared his throat before speaking.

"I'm afraid not, it's been a slow day though so if they do come by we can let you know."

Shin exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. His first thought was to assume that Trunks had failed and Cell was not only alive, but victorious. His second thought advised caution and a cool head. He might simply have died before the battle had a chance to conclude. In which case he needed Enma to check what was happening immediately, the fate of the entire universe depended on the outcome of that struggle.

"If my assistant Kibito or a Saiyan named Trunks pass into the next world, bring them here instantly. Now please, we need a way to see into the living world."

Lord Enma looked as though he were about to protest and ask more questions, but a hard glare from Shin shut his mouth. The red ogre in turn glared down at one of his assistants, who shrunk under the gaze.

"You heard the Supreme Kai, go fetch my television! The good one!" Enma roared, sending the pale faced ogre racing deeper into the palace. "And you," he directed to the ogre standing on his other side, "Go outside and tell them to be on the lookout for Kibito and Trunks!"

The red faced ogre ran past Shin to get out the door, papers fluttering behind him. As soon as the door slammed shut behind him Enma looked down at Shin with concern.

"So what's this all about? I don't remember you being this serious since well, ever."

Shin knew Enma was right to be shocked at how quickly he was taking charge here. They had only ever communicated briefly telepathically in the past, the longest instance being right after he had assumed his duties and confirmed that he was responsible for matters involving all four quadrants of the universe.

"Majin Buu may be revived soon, and the last thing I knew the only one who may have a chance at stopping him was in a battle to the death against a creature almost as evil." His hand brushed over his chest, an unconscious response to the memory of what had killed him.

"I see. Then circumstances truly are grave." Enma muttered, bringing his hands together in concern. A pitched squealing filled the room soon after as a nervous and sweaty team of ogres wheeled in a giant sized desk with a massive television set on top of it. The work team bowed and left the room in the hurry, though Enma didn't pay them any more attention than a grunt as he reached for a remote to turn it on.

"Let's see, according to your file you died on New Namek..." Enma trailed off, switching from views of different planets until he found the correct one. Unlike the relatively peaceful scenes that had been shown on the screen, what appeared on Namek was anything but.

A furious red light burned in the sky, splitting into thousands of smaller lights as it expanded. Appearing like a tiny green marble before it was New Namek, which soon had half of its surface bathed in crimson. Shin couldn't help but look worried even as the glow faded and the planet remained intact, though with fewer neighbours in the sky than it had started with.

At the touch of a button on the remote the view changed from space to the ground, where the illusion of peace was dispelled. Patches of red lava covered the face of one continent, spreading slowly like acne over the few pockets of green remaining. Choking clouds of smoke built up in the sky, blocking out all light from the sun and releasing toxic rain onto the ground below. The only source of light was from the areas where the earth had fallen into the mantle, letting the warmth of Namek's innards shine through.

"Is anyone still alive?" Shin asked. He was unable to take his eyes off the screen, captivated by the morbid beauty of the dying planet even as he was horrified by the toll of life that must have been taken. His primary concern was for the fates of Trunks and Cell, but the people of Namek also attracted his worry. If any Namekians had survived they wouldn't stay alive long in the kind of hell their world was transforming into...

"Yes," Enma started, equally enraptured by Namek's turmoil, "there are a few life signs, most of them faint, but the strongest are around the red hole there." The view zoomed in on what was possibly the area worst hit by the battle between Trunks and Cell, a landscape blasted plain of all features besides a monstrously large crater with magma surging out of the centre. Strangely it had the clearest sky for miles around with the encroaching tendrils of darkness only slowly winding their way into the green expanse. On the volcanic ground lay Trunks, hole in his shoulder no longer bleeding. He appeared unmoving, but minute movements in the grains of ash around him showed that he was alive, for however long that tenuous link to life would hold.

Shin's heart jumped into his throat and against his will a grin spread over his face. The close-up of Trunks pulled out to a view of Kibito, who was pulling himself up from the ground with a look of great pain.

"He's alive! They're all alive!" Shin shouted, punching the air as his spirits were renewed. "Ha-ha, this is great! That means Cell was caught in that explosion. We did it!"

Enma looked down at Shin, puzzled at the 180 degree change in spirit the god had underwent. Just moments before he had looked to be on the verge of breaking down, now he was celebrating like he'd be returning to life!

"I'm pleased to see you so happy Supreme Kai, but there is one more strong survivor," Enma said as the screen blurred for a split second. Shin's expression froze, twitches of fear overcoming him as he watched a Cell Junior climb out of a lava filled hole, a hateful expression on the creature's face as smoke and molten rock ran off it. The Junior's mottled blue carapace looked like it had been burnt to a crisp, but just the fact that it was standing up put it in a better position than the others.

 _And it's so close to Trunks, it could kill him in his sleep!_

"I need to reach Kibito." Shin said to himself as he reached across dimensions with his telepathy. There were barriers between the worlds of living and dead that prevented this type of breach, but as the Supreme Kai he expected his authority to supersede them, even if he was deceased.

' _Kibito, it's me. I'm afraid I have no time to explain, but you need to get to Trunks right away!'_

"S-Supreme Kai..." Kibito slurred, body slumping forward at the cost of trying to turn his head up to find the source of the voice. With the pain crippling his body and mind, he was nearly convinced that he had hallucinated the words until Shin's urgent message came again.

' _I truly am sorry to ask you to fight again after you've given so much, but you are all that's left to save Trunks. Cell has been vanquished, but one of his children remains a servant to Babidi, and it will strike down Trunks if you don't intervene.'_

The pounding behind his eyes felt like it would knock them out of his skull but Kibito managed to hold himself upright, even as the dizziness only grew worse the more he tried to use his senses.

"Wh-where are you?"

' _I'm sorry to tell you like this my friend, but I died trying to save Trunks from that same Junior while he clashed with Cell. I can't return to the living world in time to save him again, b_ _ut you can. What I ask may seem impossible, but if you muster all your strength I'm sure you can do it!'_

"I'll... try."

Kibito shut his eyes, merciful relief from the light that had threatened to overwhelm him. An image appeared in his mind, one definitely not of his own creation for how stable it seemed. A demonic creature, injured in its own right, was staggering towards a sprawled purple haired body, each step becoming more secure. Without wasting a second thought on it Kibito teleported to it, feeling the journey only as a soothing absence of sensation within his body.

 _ **WHUMP**_

That was the rather anticlimactic sound Kibito's body made as he fell on top of the Cell Jr. Startled, the imp collapsed under his weight.

Shin wasn't sure how to react to the sight of his friend smothering a deadly being under his body, given that it looked like it had worked. But with the way that Kibito just lay there it didn't look as though he'd be able to actually stop the Cell Jr from killing him or Trunks when it chose to get back up.

As it turned out he didn't have to wait long to see the worst come to pass. Gold light that hurt Shin's eyes to look at burst all around Kibito, tearing up the ground around him before a visible wave of force threw the comatose demigod into the air. The Cell Jr, eyes burning red with hate looked up into the sky and snarled. It pulled its hand back, red light gathering inside its hand as it prepared to end the existence of the pest that had just embarrassed it.

"HYAAA!" It cried, firing the cone of red energy into the air. Shin's breath caught in his throat as he saw the attack close the distance to Kibito, with zero sign of consciousness on his face.

"No!"

The yell that escaped him came without thinking, a pure reaction to the anticipated vision of his friend's life ending. It turned out to have been premature as milliseconds before the blast would have struck Kibito a smaller bolt of energy speared him in the side, sending him rocketing into the ground next to Trunks. Kibito's face tightened in pain before relaxing again into the peace of whatever dream was keeping him from waking.

The Cell Jr looked as surprised as the rest of the unseen observers to the surprise assist. It started looking wildly around the area while Enma fumbled with the remote searching for some setting that would allow them to see who was responsible before the Junior did. Coincidentally the three pairs of eyes found the culprit at the same time.

A Namekian warrior landed opposite the Cell Jr. His clothing was covered in soot and it looked like his pants had endured fires of their own from the frayed and blackened ends left above his knees. His hand was still held out, left hand clutching the wrist tightly.

The Junior's look of mild worry melted as a warm amusement filled it. It snickered and aimed its own palm at the Namekian, red glow appearing as it intended to repeat the same attack against the new target.

"I know you, you're one of the creatures that took the dragon ball from our village. Elder Moori told us that we shouldn't stand in your way, but from what you've done to our planet there's no way we can just sit back and let you get away with it!"

When the Namekian finished his declaration, half a dozen more Namekians dropped from the skies to stand next to him, forming a close semicircle around the Junior. All of them possessed the same serious atmosphere, and were covered in a flowing white aura that seemed to magnify the sternness of their expressions.

"They are brave," Enma muttered, leaning forward to get a better view of the screen as the warriors powered up as one. "If they fight together they'll surely be able to take that thing down."

"No, even if it weren't for Babidi's magic they wouldn't stand a chance." Shin said. He could easily remember the ordeal that fighting one of Cell's children in close combat had been, how he had nearly died to one that was far inferior to the specimen remaining. There could have been a thousand Namekians and it would still have been like swatting flies for that demon!

 _You're right Enma, they are brave. But foolish for wasting their lives like that. What are they hoping to accomplish when their deaths would only amuse this creature further?_

"Hmm." The Cell Jr looked around twice, eyes moving each of the assembled warriors with a shark-like smile on its deceptively innocent face. With deliberate pacing it brought its arms to its side and clutched its hands into fists, then took a deep breath.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

Shin brought his arms up over his eyes to protect them from the blinding light shining out of the glass screen, almost throwing himself back at the intensity behind it. He heard a muffled cry come from Enma as he fell back in his chair, the force of him hitting the ground sending a tremor through the Check-In station. When the animalistic screaming stopped Shin tentatively took his arms away from his face to see what had transpired on Namek.

The golden aura burning around the Cell Jr was studded with electrical sparks that sent shivers through the Kaioshin's spine just to look at. The Junior was throwing a few test punches into the air, dodging imaginary strikes at a speed that strained the god's eyes to follow. The Namekian warriors that had surrounded it hadn't broken their formation, but they did look visibly nervous, a few of them having assumed defensive postures in reaction to the stunning presentation of power.

"What is that thing?" Enma asked, pulling himself back up from the floor with a pained look on his face. "How can a child have so much power?"

"That's no mere child, as I fear you're about to see." Shin replied, gritting his teeth, "That's a creation of Cell, meant for nothing but to spread devastation. To make matters worse this one has been corrupted by Babidi."

Something attracted Shin's attention, some movement at the edge of the screen away from the predatory homunculus and its prey. Outside of the sphere of light formed by all their auras it was hard to see, but there was something casting a shadow, and from the way its profile kept close to the ground something trying hard not to be seen.

"Enma, zoom in on what's happening behind the stand-off." Shin ordered. A moment later he was looking at a Namekian clearly younger than the rest crawling to where Kibito and Trunks lay. Shin watched fascinated as the Namekian placed both hands over Trunks' body and golden light diffused into the Saiyan's body. Golden light not too different from...

"That's it!"

It was all so _clear_ now. He couldn't keep the joy off his face as he realised the secret brilliance of the Namekians plan. The warriors weren't going to throw their lives away in a pointless assault, they were there to distract the Junior while one of their own healed the one who could defeat it. The Cell Junior, vile as it was, still had the mindset of a child. It would play with its toys as long as it could to amuse itself, and while it took its time with them Trunks would be healed!

 _Dragon balls, healing magic and warriors selfless enough to endure such pain; the Nameks are a truly gifted people._

"What! What's it?" Enma exclaimed, puzzled at what could have turned things around from the dire plot they had been watching unfold only seconds ago.

"That Namekian is healing Trunks, and if he comes back to his full power then that's the end for Cell Junior." Shin laughed as he watched the golden energy flow into Trunks and the black wound in his shoulder close shut. "In a few minutes time our hope of putting an end to the shadow that's fallen over the living world will be restored!"

"You say it like you'll be celebrating with them." Enma said, removing his eyes from the screen to give the Supreme Kai an earnest stare, "I don't want to dampen your spirits or anything but you _are_ dead."

Shin said nothing, preferring to keep watching Trunks get healed over getting into a debate with Lord Enma. It was true that the last Kaioshin to have died had followed the rules the same as everyone else and been reincarnated, but he had no reason to give up his body while there was still work to be done. And if he could get Kibito to take him back to Kaioshinkai then he'd be able to continue in the fight against Babidi as though nothing had happened.

 _ **BOOOOOM**_

The outbreak of several simultaneous sonic booms stole Shin's gaze away from the healer Namekian and back to the warriors, who evidently had started their battle against Cell Jr. The perspective change seemed automatic as the screen suddenly showed the seven warriors all floating in a circle around the Junior, fists pausing inches away from its face. The imp was chuckling at the flies it had caught in its aura, and with a flourish of its tiny arms it sent them all flying up into the sky. Rather than being cloaked in their own auras each one seemed to be held in an envelope of golden light that lingered as they shot through the air.

Shin watched in shock as the Cell Jr smirked and crouched low before leaping into the air, where it became visible only as a golden streak. An air-splitting crack emanated as it landed on the first Namekian, still only visible as a blur, before it darted to the next one in a similarly violent collision. The Junior cannonballed between all of the Namekians for a good minute, each impact shaking the landscape before finally it stopped between them, gold aura billowing proudly. The Namekians dropped out of the sky like sacks of meat, with the Junior's leering eyes tracking them all the way down.

The way their bodies didn't move after hitting the ground could have fooled anyone into thinking that they'd been dead, until one of them started to rise up. By the time he had made it to his knees the others were just struggling up on their own.

Then the Cell Jr came crashing down like a meteorite onto his back. The Namekian's scream made Shin wince, and all his companions react with fear to the sight of the diminutive monster pressing down on his spine. One of them gathered enough energy to fire a blast at the Junior, only for it to dissolve against its aura.

Rather than seek out a new target the Junior pressed its foot against the Namekian's skull and slowly applied force, drawing out a longer more agonised scream from the warrior as the pressure increased.

"Get off him you freak!" A Namek yelled out, charging the Cell Jr with all its might. It spun into a kick that rebounded harmlessly off the Junior's horned skull. Undeterred he kept attacking, landing successive blows that might have been serious against a much weaker opponent. Soon the other Namekians joined in trying to get the Junior to stop torturing their fallen brother, which only seemed to amuse it more as it made no moves to defend itself while drawing out caving in the Namekian's skull.

"Damn you!" One of them snarled, pulling back both hands, "Victory Cannon!"

Yellow energy surged out of his hands before shooting forward to strike the Junior in the face. Surprisingly, this got its attention as it looked up from the pinned Namekian to the one that had just blasted it. With a blank stare it raised two fingers up, and seconds later the area around it was bathed in white light.

There was barely enough time for Shin to see the shock spread over the Namekians faces before the ground beneath them blew up. It didn't come close to matching the light show that had been the Junior charging up, but it did force him to squint as a vibrant pillar of light rose into the air. When it faded the bodies off all the warriors were lying face down on the ground, and to Shin's revulsion it looked like they were steaming.

"Are they..." He started, trailing off as he knew Enma would finish his thought.

"No. That little creep is very good at holding back when it wants to be."

Shin nodded and went back to watching. The Cell Jr was looking around triumphantly, but it also seemed disappointed as it hopped off its former chew toy to nudge a different Namekian with its foot. After receiving no response from a few kicks it held a finger up, a red and black ball of electricity coalescing there. Shin felt his body tense as he watched the Junior prepare its killing stroke, unable to believe that a creature so obviously childish could hold such malice in its eyes.

 _Don't worry my friends. You'll be rewarded as the bravest of warriors after your death._

Cell Jr blinked in surprise and looked up and to the side, Shin's gaze following it to find the Namekian healer huddled over Kibito. The red deity was stirring in his sleep, growing restless as energy was returned to his body. Soon he'd be back in fighting shape, rested and recovered from the trials of that day.

 _Not if that monster attacks now!_

Shin wanted to do something, to appear and buy his friend a few more minutes, to urge him to wake up, anything but watch as the chance at victory he'd been so unexpectedly granted was stolen. His pupils swelled as he saw the Junior's lips curl downward to a grimace and it aimed the attack at the Namekian's back. He had to do something!

' _Dodge now! The small Cell has seen you!'_

The healer's eyes and mouth just had time to widen in shock, and he just had time to turn around in futility as the blue shelled spawn fired the attack, a wave of energy blasting off from its finger as though to propel the blast even further. Shin felt his heart be gripped by a cold, iron fist as his emotions mirrored that of the Namekian at seeing his doom approach, and the end of the new hope he had been cultivating.

The deadly sphere was stopped two meters away from its target – prevented from striking by a hand cloaked in pure golden light. Shin felt his jaw drop as Trunks closed his hand around the ball of dark energy, scattering it to bits as he looked into the terrified eyes of the Cell Jr. Then the Kaioshin smiled as he saw a second transformation steal over Trunks' form, one that cloaked him in an electrified aura similar to the Junior's own.

"You won't kill anyone else today." Trunks said. The harshness of his tone sounded harder in his Super Saiyan 2 state, causing the Cell Jr to take a step back in fear as it heard him.

"I knew I could count on you." Shin said, looking over his shoulder at Enma who seemed awestruck by his first sight of the radiant Super Saiyan 2 transformation. With a smirk he turned back to the screen, eager to see the horrid spawn of Cell get its comeuppance.

There was a moment where the Junior blurred from sight, only to be caught in place and lifted into the air by its throat. Trunks held it there, not flinching as it tried kicking and raking its claws over his skin to be let go.

"Now it's time for you to join your father in hell," Trunks said, energy pooling in his fist as he spoke. The Cell Junior made a panicked squeak as the hand was thrust at its head, the light held in it shifting from gold to red as it was about to be unleashed.

Then all light vanished from the area. Shin struggled to make out the cause of it, unable to see anything in the cloak of darkness that had fallen. He looked to Enma to see if the judge of the dead had caught anything he'd missed but the ogre merely shrugged and mumbled apologetically, fiddling with the remote to try and fix whatever the issue was.

What he could see was Kibito rising to his feet, steady and sure as an oak tree and giving unheard thanks to the Namekian who was running towards the fallen warriors. Seeing Kibito staring resolutely up at the sky gave Shin a pang of relief, and guilt as well. Even if they put an end to Babidi his friend would still have to experience millennia more of solitude before the new Shinjin were ready to be trained. All that time alone wouldn't be healthy for anyone, but Kibito would have the death of a companion weighing on him.

 _I can't make what is to come any easier for you Kibito, but I can make sure that we finish this last task together. As we intended._

' _Kibito. I'm glad to see you on your feet. Are you feeling better?'_

The image of Kibito didn't show any change on his face as Shin contacted him, but the Kaioshin could have sworn there was a minute twitch on his cheek that might have led to a smile. ' _Yes master, I feel as though I've rested for centuries. The Namekian healing arts may be almost as fine as that of us gods, I think.'_

' _Yes, I saw their valiant performance against that Cell Junior. But it and Trunks have gone missing! Can you sense their energy anywhere on the planet?'_

There was a deep silence as Kibito shut his eyes, screwing them in concentration. ' _No, nor anywhere else in this solar system.'_

' _Damn it. It's as if they vanished by...'_

Shin jerked his head back to Enma, who was leafing through a dog eared technical manual and grumbling. In a flash Kibito was standing beside him, smelling like death. But he couldn't acknowledge him right then, not when he needed to know where Trunks was.

"Lord Enma! Please, show us what is happening on Earth!" Shin yelled, turning to Kibito with concern writ on his features. "I fear Babidi hasn't finished his dark designs yet."

 **-Trunks-**

The feeling of being teleported more or less against his will was familiar to him, so it took him practically no time at all to adjust to suddenly standing in the middle of a brown desert. A quick glance up at the blue sky told him that he was back on Earth, which was a strong relief. It meant he didn't have to wait any longer to finish off the mad wizard who had _complicated_ his battle with Cell. And with the last android dead, he was the only evil left before humanity could begin rebuilding.

The Cell Junior had successfully forced itself out of his grasp in the split second after they had arrived on Earth, but it hadn't gone far. Trunks used his free hand to swat it out of the air before placing his boot on its torso, holding it underfoot while he took aim with his unfired blast. While this Junior had shown a surprising ability to regenerate that the ones at the Cell Games had lacked, he was guessing that was as far as the Majin magic had taken it. The energy he needed to generate to destroy its head was nothing compared to the amount he'd need if it could regenerate like Cell could, and it wasn't costing him anything to end it before moving on to Babidi. Thin beams of light rotated from his blast as he primed it, preparing to fire at the squirming target before it did something unexpected again.

" _ **Excuse me**_!"

Trunks barely reacted as he heard Babidi's high pitched voice. Maybe the wizard wanted to _gloat;_ he didn't care. When the last remnant of Cell had been erased from existence then they could have a nice long chat.

Something **very** dark and powerful manifested in front of him at the exact second he fired the blast down at the Junior's skull. He felt the blow crash into him without seeing what had done it, feeling his entire body go numb then explode with pain as he was collapsed onto the sandy terrain, sucking in deep breaths and trying not to let his eyes roll back in his eyes.

 _What... what was that? Cell?_

Struggling, he forced his head up, keeping an eye open to see if his fearful suspicion was true. The picture was blurry, the lines refusing to stay coherent as his vision focused and unfocused but one thing was definite. It wasn't Cell.

"Oh, I was hoping you wouldn't do that. I had such _plans_ for the little one." Babidi sneered. "He would have made a good companion for Majin Buu. And after _Cell's_ efforts I could have used an extra pair of hands."

 _Majin Buu... Oh no._

The identity of the one that had almost knocked him out with a single blow dawned on him and his eyes settled on it. A round shape, pink and wearing an outfit more suited to a circus act than the great terror of the universe was standing next to Babidi, hands confidently placed on its hips as it posed. The grin it had on its face wasn't malicious like Trunks was so used to seeing, heck, it looked pleased with itself in the way a child would.

"That's the Majin Buu I heard so much about?" Trunks got to his feet, pushing down the pain as he did his best to recover his strength and examine his opponent. "Is this a joke? You can't seriously expect me to believe _that_ is the monster the Supreme Kai was so afraid of."

Buu scowled but it was Babidi whose face contorted with anger and maybe disappointment before he spoke, "I had _similar_ feelings when Buu first came out of his pod. I could scarcely believe it, but believe I did after Buu demonstrated his power to me."

Now Babidi's wrinkled lips drew back into a devious smirk before he threw his arm out gesturing to something behind him. Trunks cautiously took his eyes off Majin Buu to see what had impressed Babidi. Behind the wizard, a little ways into the distance, was a tall egg shaped structure that rivalled some of the nearby rock formations for size. Trunks wasn't sure what he was looking at at first until it clicked in him from what he'd been told about Babidi's operation.

' _That's his spaceship. But Cell destroyed it completely, there was nothing left. How could Buu have rebuilt it in so little time?_

"Yes, my Majin Buu is more talented than he may appear at first glance. And that's to say nothing of his power." Babidi said, as if reading Trunks' mind, "It looks like you had a little experience of your own with what Buu can do. How does it feel?" Babidi's voice went from sounding jovial to snarling, "Yes! I remember when you were going to kill me. That churlish insect Cell already paid the price for defying me, I think its time you share the same fate! Majin Buu, kill him!"

"OK." Majin Buu nodded yet didn't move. Trunks dropped into a fighting stance, feeling unease worm its way through his belly. Even if he had been caught almost off guard before, the feeling of power behind Buu's strike was _immense_ and he didn't look like it'd taken any effort to hit that hard. Standing in front of him posing like a child Majin Buu may not have looked dangerous, but his ki told a different story. It was difficult to read, like he was shining a flash light into the ocean trying to gauge how deep it was. But that was enough to tell there was way more there than he would've liked to be facing.

"What are you waiting for? Come on!" Trunks yelled, ascended Saiyan aura sparking and howling as he laid down the challenge. He hadn't seen him coming before, sure, but now he was prepared, he'd be able to see what Buu did and -

Buu's slit eyes opened, showing an evil that shocked Trunks before he blurred from sight, leaving an after-image behind.

 _ **VRAAAAAM**_

Buu's skinny knee met both of Trunks' arms raised to guard, the impact firing out a hollow ring through the air that Babidi was forced to block with a barrier. Trunks felt himself almost give up against the force contained in that one strike, the sensation of his arms wanting to go limp as they _vibrated_ from the tension they were forced to endure. That moment of weakness lasted for all of a second as he composed himself and leapt up, swinging his leg into Buu's face in retaliation. To his great surprise, Buu was sent flying off his feet with zero resistance, the majin actually sliding along the ground for a few meters with his legs sticking into the air before falling down.

Trunks looked at the comatose form of Majin Buu with incredulity, questioning his entire assessment of the being's strength. Babidi was staring as well with much more open shock.

"Buu! No!"

Content that for now nothing stood between him and the magician Trunks flung his arm up and fired a blast at him, which was countered with a hastily flung up barrier. The explosion buried what had been left of the Cell Junior's corpse in rubble and sent Babidi bouncing along the ground like stone over a pond until he came to a halt against Trunks' foot.

"I'm sure the Supreme Kai is watching us from Otherworld. I'm a little sorry I couldn't make your end more entertaining for him."

Before Trunks could bring his hand down to strike Babidi from the world of the living, a black mitten intercepted his fist. It was on the end of a pink arm that stretched all the way from Majin Buu, who had just gotten up.

"You won't hurt master Babidi. He gives Buu cake!"

"What?"

"Yes, that's right Buu." Babidi said, nervously looking up at the death blow that had been averted. "And if you get this meddlesome brat far away from here I'll get you an extra helping, with as many toppings as you want!"

"Yummy! Buu want it now!" Buu exclaimed, hand reeling back to rub his large belly while Trunks stared dumbfounded at the immaturity on display. "Buu want cake now!"

The antenna on the back of his head sprang to life, stiffening and pointing forward. A jagged pink beam flashed out of it, Trunks dodging it by the skin of his teeth. The boulder it struck was cloaked in pink light before transforming into a massive triple deck chocolate cake topped with strawberries and thick frosting. It wobbled in the air before scooting towards Buu, who eagerly opened his mouth to accommodate it. The cake was swallowed in a single bite, Buu's cheeks puffing up like a chipmunk's as he chewed it, messy bits of frosting falling out of his mouth.

 _I did not just see that._ Trunks thought, doing his best to ignore that the cake Buu was enjoying could have easily been him if he hadn't dodged. That fact was easy to press aside, compared to how weird it was that Buu could turn things into cake. The Supreme Kai had stressed how dangerous Buu was, and transformational powers like that were dangerous, but Trunks couldn't shake off the impression that it suited a fairy tale character more than the genocidal monster he had been expecting.

"What the hell kind of creature is he?"

Trunks had asked it rhetorically but Babidi seemed eager to answer. "I'd tell you, but you couldn't begin to understand. Majin Buu is the culmination of my father Bibidi's life work, a creation of magic surpassing even the Supreme Kais! You know there used to be five of them? _What do you think happened to the other four_?"

Trunks' attention was drawn back to Majin Buu who had finished the cake and was licking its lips in satisfaction. He knew that the other Kaioshin had been killed, but seeing Buu for himself it occurred to him that they may have suffered a much worse fate.

"The same thing that's going to happen to you when Buu gets tired of taking orders. I've seen what happens when servants more powerful than their masters realise that the control they have over them is only an illusion. It's not pretty." Trunks smiled, which was met with only a scowl as Babidi gathered venom for his next sentence.

"Buu knows that I only have to say a word and he's back in his shell, and so does the Supreme Kai. Isn't that why he's not with you now? Or is it because he's dead?"

Trunks lashed out faster than sight, but once again his strike was thwarted by Majin Buu. The djinn's boot slammed into his face sending the ascended Saiyan flying through the air, with Buu eagerly running after him with his arms lagging behind him. In an instant Buu overtook Trunks and grabbed him by the throat, the whiplash almost breaking the Saiyan's neck as his body came to a complete halt before he was slammed into the ground hard enough to cause an earthquake.

"HA HA HA HA!" Buu laughed, sitting down on Trunks' chest. He tried to resist the suffocating amount of weight placed on him by thrusting out his aura but it had no effect on Buu, who readied a fist.

 _ **WHAM**_

Blood shot out of Trunks' nose and mouth like a faucet as his skull was hit with enough force to make tectonic plates tremor in pain. The wooziness he experienced saved him some pain as Buu's next punch landed, twisting his face the other way before the following one hammered his head into a crater.

The crescendo of punches picked up in volume as Buu got more and more excited watching Trunks' face distort with pain, and the pained screams kept Buu smiling. The Majin hummed to himself as he kept up the vicious beating, content to play with his toy for as long as possible.

 **-Babidi-**

The explosion of pressure when Buu had attacked Trunks had sent him flying away and gotten dust all over his cape, but hearing the arrogant youth's cries of pain more than made up for his discomfort. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the sound was like music to his ears after the way the _Saiyan_ had transgressed against him.

"Yes! Get him Buu! Make that brat suffer for as long as possible!" He shouted, pumping his fists eagerly to show his support.

Things may have started out looking bleak, but all in all things had turned out great for him. Buu was free, the Supreme Kai was dead and the last excuse for a hero he'd _ever_ have to worry about was on track for a very painful death. It would have been slightly better if Dabura or even Cell Junior had survived but with such a bright future ahead of him the wizard had decided not to split hairs over tiny details like that. He could tell with how quickly Buu had dismantled any chance of Trunks fighting back that he'd lost nothing of true value.

 _As soon as Buu's done with his chew toy we're leaving this dump for somewhere more respectable. Like Icarion. The planet's full of pacifists so I should be able to take over without any major damage. The knowledge held there will only serve to expand my mystic powers, enough to seize Kaioshinkai as the true seat of my empire. And then the victory my father dreamt of will be complete._

A sinister smile crossed Babidi's face, a parade of images crossing his mind's eye. Him addressing a crowd of billions all gathered to venerate him, Majin Buu at his side, the two of them standing on the balcony of the castle he'd built from the dead Kaiju trees.

Thoughts like that never ceased to bring real happiness to Babidi. He may have dwelt in his fantasy longer if the landscape in front of him hadn't suddenly become engulfed in incandescent flames. With practised ease he threw up a barrier, but it still left him blind to whatever was playing out that had caused the eruption of energy.

"BUU! Are you alright? What's happening!"

The answer wasn't one he liked. The blazing energy drew itself in, revealing Trunks standing tall with half his face smeared crimson and an eye bruised shut. He was aiming both hands at the sky, the glowing energy collected in his hands.

"You may look innocent, but in reality you're deadly. If I don't stop you, there's no one left who could!" Trunks intoned, right before red and gold ki blasted around him, forming a dome as he yelled at the top of his lungs, "DISAPPEAR FOR GOOD!"

Distraught, Babidi's eyes looked up to see the blurred shape of Majin Buu hovering in the air above Trunks. Panic hit him as the energy swelled around Trunks, and even though there was little he could do at that point Babidi still felt the need to do _something_ to save his most priceless asset.

"Dodge Buu!"

Babidi could almost see the quizzical expression on Buu's face change in a wave of panic just as Trunks' attack reached him. In an instant Majin Buu was wiped out, every particle fragmenting and blowing apart as the furious wave of energy tore through his body. Facing almost zero resistance the beam continued high into the sky, exploding into a dazzling array of colours just as it exited the atmosphere.

Trunks slumped down to one knee, aura losing some of its sparks and hair drooping slightly as he grimaced upward.

"AAAAAAAH! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY MAJIN BUU! You... you... insolent child!" Babidi screamed. Trunks looked at him with his good eye, feeling a small tinge of nervousness at hearing the pure rage in the wizard's voice.

"I'll make you pay!" Babidi screeched, dark coils of lightning building around his arms. Trunks braced himself, preparing to face whatever magical attack he had in store for him head on.

Babidi brought his hands forward, gritting his teeth as he prepared to cast the darkest spells he knew-

"Stop."

A large red hand was open in front of his face, the voice that had spoken freezing Babidi in place. He was so stunned that he started shaking, unable to believe who was standing before him.

"Kibito." Trunks said, stunned but soon smiling as he saw that the deity was back in top form.

"You're supposed to be dead." Babidi growled, moving backwards as carefully as he could while glaring up at Kibito's stoic visage.

"Your pawns are too childish for their own good. The Junior was, and that immaturity cost Majin Buu his life. While Buu's power was incredible, all that power is _worthless_ if you can't manage to put up a defence in time. Now your cherished _slave_ is dust on the wind, and the universe only has one obstacle left to lasting peace."

While Kibito aimed one hand at shooting waves of gentle golden light, the other was aimed at Babidi and filled with crackling white energy that filled the air with the smell of ozone.

"You."

"Paparapapar!"

Babidi vanished from the spot, the blast exploding in a small plume of dirt a moment later.

 **-Trunks-**

He could tell that his energy had increased after the relentless beating he'd taken from Majin Buu, although it wasn't the kind of sharp jump he'd experienced on Namek. It made him grateful to have Kibito around, since he wasn't only back in the fight faster but he was going through the kinds of power increases he'd never had against the androids. Either his mother's healing technology wasn't as thorough as she'd hoped or there was something extra special about Kaioshin healing.

He was stronger than he'd ever thought could be possible, and he felt like he wasn't even scratching the surface of what he was capable of. A few more years of training with the Ascended form and there was no telling how strong he'd be, the difference could be as great as before and after his first visit to the Room of Spirit and Time!

"Babidi has disappeared to his spaceship. Probably he means to flee the planet while we search for him." Kibito said, pointing to the great white eggshell shaped vessel Trunks had overlooked during his bout with Majin Buu.

"How can you tell? I can't sense anything from that ship."

"The Supreme Kai and Lord Enma are still in contact with me, and they can follow Babidi a lot better from the Check-In Station."

"Oh, I see." Trunks said a bit awkwardly as he absorbed how strange that explanation sounded on the surface. If it hadn't been for his journey through time he'd find the concept of a giant ogre in an office that judged the dead a little too out there, but to him now it made total sense. He brushed it off and took aim at the dome of the ship, firing a simple bolt of energy into the hull.

To Trunks' surprise the shot glanced off the hull without even leaving a scratch.

"Babidi's ship is made out of some of the most durable materials in the universe, with layers of protective enchantments laid over them. Your attacks will be completely ineffective." Kibito paused, mulling something over. "However, given that Cell destroyed it in his second form you should only need to transform once to be able to blow it to ashes."

The gentle buzz of the Super Saiyan aura soon filled the air as he took the suggestion and transformed, repeating the procedure with a much larger ball of energy. He took aim and was about to fire when he felt something pull on him from behind. It wasn't strong enough to move him, but it was growing stronger by the moment, and it reminded him of something...

"Hey, do you feel that?" He asked, lowering his hand uncertainly to look at Kibito, who looked equally puzzled.

"Yes, there is something amiss here. I sense something _dark_ growing nearby."

Trunks' eyes grew wide as he realised the last time he had felt something similar...

 _It was finally over. Cell was defeated, and he knew he should be more glad about it but seeing the eleven year old kid crying alone stole all joy from his sense of victory. The world was safe, but Goku had died to make it happen. Trunks was sure they could bring him back with the dragon balls, but that knowledge wouldn't make things easier on Gohan. He was blaming himself, taking on all the guilt for someone choosing to sacrifice their life for his. Trunks knew what that felt like better than anyone._

 _He was going to go down to where Gohan was to comfort him when a strong wind appeared out of nowhere, with something **huge** at its centre. Before he could even put up his guard or transform the beam had already penetrated his chest, throwing him back and forcing blood up his throat. He was in unimaginable pain, he could barely move, but the last thing he saw was -_

"Cell."

Trunks forgot all about Babidi as he powered up to Super Saiyan 2, almost knocking Kibito off his feet with the violent transformation.

"Cell? But how, surely you destroyed him!" Kibito asked, holding his arms in front of his face to defend against the waves of force emanating from Trunks.

"It seemed like it to me too, but this is just like when he regenerated in the past. He also came back a lot stronger than when he died, so be on your guard. He might be even stronger than I am now."

Kibito gawked in disbelief at Trunks' statement while the ascended Saiyan did his best to keep calm and locate Cell's ki signature. He wasn't finding anything specific but there was definitely an energy picking up somewhere close.

It suddenly started raining, which would have been enough of a surprise if the rain hadn't been composed entirely of gum. Trunks watched in morbid curiosity as the bits of gum hit the ground, quickly forming a thick carpet around them that almost seemed to be wriggling.

"These must be the remains of Majin Buu." He frowned. "So how come I still sense energy around us?"

As though answering his question sections of the gum rolled up, forming large bushes of squirming pink material that soon rolled together. Two of them moved next to each other in time for a pink boulder double their size to nimbly leap on top of them, with two smaller gobs rolling up the base onto its sides. A final ball hovered through the air to plop itself down onto the central one, and the thin pink layer remaining whipped itself up to attach itself to what Trunks could clearly see were meant to be shoulders.

Colour resolved itself throughout the pink snowman as the dark leather vest, white pants and short antenna made themselves distinct before arms and legs grew out of it.

Standing in front of the Super Saiyan and the demigod was Majin Buu, returned to life from indistinct pink mush in barely a minute.

"Buu!" He exclaimed, leaping up for joy before crashing down to earth.

"So he can regenerate too, great." Trunks muttered, entering a fighting stance. He had managed to blow up Buu before, and that was after taking the hardest punches in his life. If he went all out now he might be able to wipe out every cell of Majin Buu, and for that he couldn't worry about collateral damage.

"Kibito, get out of here. If I'm going to fight with everything I've got I can't be worried about you getting in the way."

Kibito bristled at the implication in Trunks' words, "But what if you need healing? I saw your battle against Buu before, and your strength has not increased enough to change that outcome.

' _Yeah, way to sugar coat it.'_

"If you get a chance to heal me that means there's a break in the fighting, now you can go and watch with the Supreme Kai for when that happens or you can go finish off Babidi while I keep Buu occupied."

Kibito blinked with before turning around to where Babidi's spaceship still remained.

"Oh, you no hurt master Babidi or Buu hurt you." Majin Buu said, shaking his hand like a parent admonishing a child.

"What do you care anyway!" Trunks yelled, hoping to get Buu's attention solely on him. "If Babidi's dead then there's no one to give you orders or lock you up again! Don't you want to be free?"

Buu stopped chuckling to frown and thoughtfully raise a hand to his chin, which surprised Trunks. It hadn't taken the androids five minutes to turn on Dr Gero, and Buu had seemed pretty loyal to Babidi before now. Was this seriously the first time he'd thought about rebelling?

' _ **Don't listen to them Buu! They're just trying to trick you! I'm the one who freed you from your prison, I'm the only one who cares about you! He's just trying to confuse you so that he can destroy you without me there to help you.'**_

Babidi's voice was telepathically broadcast over the whole area, bringing twin scowls to Kibito and Trunks' faces while restoring Buu's smile.

"Oh, you try and trick Buu? Well it won't work, Buu smarter than you!" In an instant a fierce pink aura was up around Buu, howling with an inhuman sound as the majin powered up. "You try and kill Buu? Buu kill YOU!"

"Kibito, go now." Trunks said, steeling himself for round two against the magical monstrosity. With a barely perceptible nod Kibito vanished and Trunks felt a small weight leave his shoulders.

"Where red man go? Buu want to play with him too." Buu asked in an innocent tone, contrasting sharply with the hellish waves of energy and predatory grin on his face.

"Forget about him! I'm your only concern!" Trunks declared, letting out a loud yell before his aura cascaded around him as he launched himself at Majin Buu.

* * *

 _ **AN: Ideally this chapter would be twice as long and have more Trunks on Buu action, but not every chapter can be a (humble) doorstopper and initially Trunks wasn't close enough to even bother Fat Buu. He is now though, on the rough narrative power scale you may put him on even terms with Majin Vegeta if you want. Also, with my university work the most time I'd have to work on this would be in June-July and I can't let my loyal readers wait that much longer!**_

 _ **This was written sporadically over the entire year, so if there are any problems please let me know and I'll address them. Oh, and double digit chapter milestone reached!**_


	11. The Fall of Man

**Chapter 11: The Fall of Man**

 **-Cell-**

The return to life that Cell experienced happened blindingly fast, so quickly that its beginning would have been missed in a blink. One moment there was nothing, the next a green nucleus appeared, misshapen lumps poking out of it that quickly resolved themselves into powerful limbs. A burst of lightning ricocheted off his form as the complete regeneration ended, leaving Cell staring in shock at the world around him.

 _Hell. Nothing here. So little space, claustrophobic, trapped. Where am I!_

Before Cell could truly panic there was a type of change that he couldn't recognise and he found himself in the familiar blackness of space. Compared to the nightmare he had experienced it was comforting in its bleak simplicity. Cell smiled, terror easing its grip on him as he readjusted to existence.

 _But how am I alive? That attack was devouring me whole, there was no room to escape it. I would have known if I'd made any plans to preserve my core._

The last thing he remembered was cracking open under the pressure from the blast wave, every part of his being splintering and burning before he could even mourn its loss. At the very last instant before his awareness had been snuffed out entirely there was a spark of _something_ , a mental circuit closed. Whatever it was that had triggered, it had saved his life. Somehow he knew what happened. The knowledge came easily, as though he'd always known and just never had a reason to reflect upon it. His smile grew wider.

 _Kibito you fool, you gave me all the tools I needed to survive certain destruction!_

Like a slideshow his mind ran through all the times he'd witnessed the Shinjin teleport, from the first moment he'd whisked him off the Earth to the end where he'd been fortunate enough to experience it with his Perfect body.

 _That was all I needed. And when I was facing absolute destruction, my infallible instincts used the technique to escape! But even so, there was so little of me left, little more than single cells... and I still came back!_

The surprise of his resurrection had worn off. As Cell's mind turned inward, it became clear that even though his form appeared the same, things were vastly different under the surface.

The androids were no longer a part of him. The subtle murmur of their sleeping minds no longer filtered through to the strata of his psyche. The loss of their techniques and other information was no loss, their greatest contribution had been to unlock his perfect form in the first place. Losing them should have reverted him back to his Imperfect form, which was a fate crueller than any other. Yet without them he was still in his perfect form... which itself had been greatly improved.

His diabolical laughter went unheard as he threw his arms up and unleashed his full power, a storm of golden energy thick with lightning shining as bright as a star around him.

 _This power, it's beyond what I had with the Kaioken, beyond any level Trunks could hope to reach! This is the true power of the Perfect being – my true power! I now see the truth of Dr Gero's design, only by purging myself of the final imperfections in my system could I become absolutely **Perfect**._

It made sense in a startlingly simple way, a way Cell could now with hindsight see had been in front of him since the pinprick of disillusionment had stabbed him after becoming perfect. The androids were imperfect, as essential as they were to fulfilling his destiny they could not remain a part of it. How could a perfect being contain things that were not perfect within it? It made no sense.

And Dr Gero had known that, accounted for that, even _planned_ for that. As more and more power flowed through Cell's body his minds eye was opening wider, expanding with the golden halo that represented his might. What had been left of him had only a single cell. It would have been certain death for any one of the races that made up his being, but in his unique body their best qualities had been combined in a way that allowed him to cheat death itself. He had no need for a core like a Namekian, as he had so foolishly thought. Any one of his cells could reconstruct his entire body in only a few minutes. And having come so close to death, his Saiyan genes would express themselves, and his body would be rebuilt stronger than before, the height of his former power realised and then surpassed.

 _I have no limits! And to think, I wanted to wish for immortality._

A great power suddenly flared nearby, bringing his chuckling to an end as he took to analysing it. While it felt close to him in terms of distance it was anything but. From where he was the nearest star was a faint glow, a hazy dot less visible than a candlelight.

 _Showing off so soon Trunks? You must think you've beaten me. I'll gladly teach you a lesson for daring to be arrogant enough to believe you could kill Perfection!_

Cell _willed_ himself to New Namek and he was _there._ Using Instantaneous Movement had been even easier than taking a step, and the villain now found himself looking down at the planet from above. At the very least the circumstances of his 'death' hadn't been peaceful, as the world looked only slightly better than its predecessor had been when Frieza had finished with it. And in the midst of a continent spanning dark cloud a tower of golden light was rising up.

It was unquestionably Trunks, and with a little more examination it looked like he was tussling with the Junior who had fallen under Babidi's spell. Cell frowned, fists clenching as he remembered how the _brat_ had betrayed him in his last moments. He had been sure to unleash hell on Trunks for his role in killing him but as the anger rose into his chest it made a convincing argument for disciplining his disobedient child first.

Both of them vanished just as Cell was about to make his move, leaving him frozen in anger mid-motion for an attack. He'd yet to gather any ki for it, and it was no loss to lower his arms and think. Either Kibito or Babidi were responsible for this, but he'd bet it was Babidi. It didn't make any sense for the Shinjin to save the life of his enemy at the last second.

Cell didn't know what the limits were on Babidi's teleportation spell, but hopefully he'd taken them somewhere familiar... like Earth. He wanted to beat the life out of them while his rage was still boiling beneath the surface, when it had simmered down it would hardly be as fun after all.

 _Still, something tells me I shouldn't be too hasty. There's still work to do here._

He could sense all of the surviving Namekians clustering near the area where he and Trunks had had their final battle, with a few of them leaving the group then returning. It was only a guess, but it was very likely that they were gathering the Dragon Balls.

 _Yes, you're going to summon the Dragon and fix your pathetic planet. Well don't worry, I'll help you out._

He pointed down at the world, aiming directly at the site of the Namekian gathering. He couldn't help but let his power show now, as the dark orb swelled from the tip of his nail. The Death Ball was finished in seconds, and since there was no reason to drag it out he fired it at the planet without hesitation. There was a dull flash as it struck the surface, then almost all at once New Namek's surface cracked open to reveal the blood red magma. A moment later spikes of energy shot out of the cracks and Cell knew to teleport back a safe distance as the planet exploded. Without sound it wasn't as exciting to see the debris field expand from where New Namek had been, but he did take satisfaction at destroying his first planet. The experience felt so much for real than Frieza's recollection had been, though there was a certain element missing. Destroying New Namek really meant nothing to him, there was no way the inhabitants could have put up a fight even if he handicapped himself in every way. That may have satisfied Frieza, but he wanted to have fun with it! The parts of him taken from King Cold appreciated the practicality of it, but it wasn't the punctuation to anything. Where was the fun if they didn't put up a fight first?

 _At least now the Dragon Balls can never be used against me. I hope I can get more fun out of destroying Earth than this... But I do have unfinished business first._

The shimmer of Instantaneous Movement surrounded him again as he vanished and reappeared. This time it wasn't to some distant point in space but to a world covered in lush green fields and blue skies studded with moons.

He had returned to Kaioshinkai.

If the Kais were going to run anywhere, this would be the place. The safe, secure world of the Kais that no evil would ever be able to reach... if you hadn't shown the place off to them before that was.

 _I don't sense the Supreme Kai or his lackey... but there is someone here. Who could it be?_

His senses had expanded as vastly as his power, but he was positive that there hadn't been anyone else here when he'd been brought there. It wasn't Trunks, it was far too weak. Out of curiosity Cell flew there, keeping his power level low in case it proved to be someone significant.

What he saw came as something of a pleasant surprise. A woman with unmistakeable shoulder length blue hair and wearing a worn-looking jumpsuit was working on an egg shaped craft and muttering to herself. She didn't seem aware of him until he landed behind her.

"Trunks is that -"

When she turned around to face him, Cell couldn't have kept from smirking even if he'd wanted to.

"Hello Bulma."

The tool she'd been holding fell to the ground as her face became a mask of fear. She pressed up against the hull of the machine, and Cell heard her heart start beating like a race horse's.

"You're Cell." Bulma said, sounding tense but not frightened as he had hoped. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"I came here to drive the meddling gods out of hiding, but it looks like they were more original with their hideouts than I gave them credit for. If they're still alive, that is." Cell remarked, grinning. "But don't waste your time worrying about them, you're the one in danger."

Cell lifted his hand and Bulma was lifted off the ground, hovering three feet off the ground with her arms stretched out and legs kicking uselessly for purchase.

"I can't decide if I should leave you alive so I can kill you in front of Trunks or just kill you now so he'll die knowing he wasn't there to save you. What do you think?"

"I think you can go straight to hell! When Trunks finds you he's gonna kick your ass so hard you'll taste his boot!" Bulma yelled, thrashing ever more frantically in Cell's telekinetic grip.

He made an amused sound as his lip curved into a tiny smirk before returning to normal.

"Trunks isn't in the same league as me any longer, not with my renewed perfection. I suppose I'll kill you now, it's one more loose end closed. I know Trunks has travelled through time, and I'm guessing that machine behind you is what does it."

In a flash a blast was held in the hand he was using to suspend Bulma, the edges expanding to the tips of his fingers as he fed power into it.

"You know, in my imperfect form I did hope to run into you. You were the last of Goku's close allies to survive the androids, and you'd done so with such success that I thought you had some way of tracking their movements I could use." Cell said, ending his mental hold on Bulma and allowing her to drop to the ground. "While I have no use for you now, I am glad that we met. While the ship has long sailed on killing Goku, killing his close friend is surely going to hurt him in the next world. It's the least I can do."

"I don't get you androids." Bulma spoke up, making Cell hold back his attack for the moment. "The one who built you died a long time ago, but you still do nothing but destroy. Haven't you thought about doing anything besides following the orders of a dead man?"

"Dr Gero is the one who enabled me to reach my perfect form and while I am infinitely grateful I don't owe him anything after that. Every decision I've made after achieving my perfect form has been my own – including this one."

In a flash Cell was miles up in the air, the golden blast in his hand firing down on Bulma and the time machine like a blast of divine lightning. They were both vaporised in an instant, but that wasn't the end of the attack as it kept tunnelling through the layers of rock leading to the planet's core. After two minutes of no symptoms as Cell continued pouring energy into the blast, the land spasmed and collapsed in fits, the pristine wilderness crashing in on itself as the quaking grew worse and worse. When city sized beams of light blasted their way out of the world's innards Cell knew that there were only seconds left before detonation. With a small sign of goodbye he teleported back to Earth before the land completely dissolved, barely missing the final flash of light as Kaioshinkai blew up.

 _That planet was tougher than I expected, but it was worth it to kill three birds with one stone. Bulma's dead, the time machine is destroyed and the world of the Kais is no more. This day really had turned out better than I could have hoped._

He was back on Earth, though no feelings of misplaced reunion met him. He'd come back to finish business, that was the reason he hadn't ended the planet as simply as he had New Namek.

Cell found himself standing atop an eggshell shaped thing that he soon recognised as Babidi's spaceship, somehow repaired after his transformation had ripped it to pieces. This was unusual, he hadn't meant to arrive here. He'd aimed to appear next to Babidi so the putrid slime couldn't plot any further against him, but his journey had been cut off somehow.

 _His ship must have a way of blocking teleportation. I certainly can't sense any energy from it I could use to pinpoint my aim anyhow._

All at once the sky was blown apart with a massive halo of energy as it turned red, impossibly large lightning bolts striking from it randomly. Seconds later a deafening scream hit his ears, making him wince as it only grew louder and louder.

"That must be Majin Buu." Cell grunted between clenched teeth, covering his rectangular ears with his hands in a futile attempt at blocking out the sound. "I can't believe I almost forgot about him."

It was _curious_ how he'd missed Buu's power level at first, but there was absolutely no way he could have been left blind to the colossal release of ki taking place not too far away. The power he sensed wasn't just noteworthy, it was _challenging_. And there was a peculiar taint to it that made it hard to judge what percentage was in use at all. Where his own power shone like a glorious beacon to any who could witness it, Majin Buu's energy was like that of a dark obelisk with seemingly no beginning or end.

It did end, and only when the environment had returned to normal was Cell able to sense another power level now that it wasn't being masked by Majin Buu's power up. It was Trunks, and while he felt weary the Saiyan was stronger than he'd been on New Namek. If he'd had this kind of power then he might have been able to win their clash without leaving his back unguarded.

"Very good Trunks… but I'll show you soon how the tables have turned between us." Cell promised, charging energy into his fist as he looked down at the ship. "Right after I show this rat the error of crossing me."

One punch was all that was necessary to break through the metal of the ship, and before the requisite electrical discharge had left the cracked open roof Cell powered up his aura and dove right down into the ship, tearing through multiple identical floors in an instant. He soon found himself floating in the air wreathed in gold before two pairs of astonished eyes. One belonged to his intended victim, and the other belonging to the battle damaged Kibito who was being restrained by two members of Yakon's race.

"C-Cell!" Babidi stammered, taking an unsteady step backwards as he tried to reconcile the vision of the minion he'd left for dead smiling down at him.

 _TAK_

That was the sound Cell's foot made as it found itself planted firmly on the floor of the spacecraft, followed swiftly by its twin. In the stunned silence following Cell's arrival the metallic notes seemed to linger in the air like a dreadful omen before Cell's cultured voice filled the silence.

"Do you remember what I said would happen if you betrayed me?" He said, feigning sweetness in his voice that was in no way reflected in his glittering magenta eyes.

Babidi brought up his hands to ready a spell but faster than the magician could see he was yanked off his feet and facing Cell at eye level, the genetic hybrid still smiling as he held him up.

"You're very lucky you succeeded in reviving Majin Buu, or I'd have more than enough time to top anything Frieza or King Cold could come up with. As it stands, this will be relatively painless."

Babidi's eyes were bulging in their sockets out of panic, and he silently pleaded for the two Majins to help him. Both released their beaten opponent and flew at Cell with feral cries. Both were rebounded by his aura hard enough to knock them out before they'd even hit the ground. Cell slowly drew his left hand back and gave Babidi a toothy grin. If the wizard thought he couldn't feel any more fear he was proven wrong when jagged purple energy surrounded the hand and a clear buzzing noise started.

"No… please… don't… can help you..."

"I am Perfect." Cell stated, moving his hand under the squirming sorcerer. "You, are obsolete."

As Cell slowly brought the energy blade up, Babidi's shrieking reached new peaks of agony. Kibito found himself unable to look away as the evil wizard was sawed in half. The assistant deity wanted to throw up, as vile as Babidi had been even he didn't deserve to die like _that_.

Cell let the twin halves of Babidi fall to the floor with wet slaps. He looked down and smirked at his handiwork, snuffing the blade that had done the job out of existence.

"Don't think I missed you there Kibito." Cell looked to the side. "I want to take a few seconds to enjoy this, so you have one chance to run. Use it wisely."

With no time to spare Kibito shot through the roof before vanishing from sight. With Cell back in action he needed to inform Trunks. Even if he was occupied with Majin Buu, he was the only one able to combat Cell – he had to know!

Kibito appeared a short distance from Trunks, who was trading blows with Majin Buu at a blurry speed.

"Trunks! Cell is back! He's -"

Kibito was cut off as a yellow boot made contact with his head, throwing him to the side. Trunks froze as he sensed all life leave the deity before his body had even hit the ground, where his neck lay twisted at an unnatural angle.

"So tired of you ruining everything." Cell lowered his leg, eyeing Kibito's still body with satisfaction. "It's good to see you again Trunks, and it's even better to finally see surprise on your face."

 **-Trunks-**

 _This is bad._

It was the understatement of the century but he was struggling to find anyway to put it. He was struggling to find any way that he could have _missed_ Cell surviving. He had searched for Cell's energy after he'd regained consciousness, right? And he hadn't felt any signs of Cell's energy before the fight with Buu… So where had Cell come from?

 _Better question, how did he survive? That last blast had enough power behind it to wipe out the stronger version from the past, there's no way he could have endured it. Did Babidi do something? No, at the last minute there he turned on Cell, he wouldn't want him to live._

"You look like you have a lot on your mind Trunks, care to share?" Cell said. The android was basking in his smugness to a degree that made Trunks want to throw up, but he maintained his composure. Or tried to. He couldn't help but sneak glances at Majin Buu, who had halted in his tracks when Cell had struck Kibito.

He could feel Cell's power, and to say it was **vast** was almost as bad an understatement as the one he'd just made. Even after his own recovery his strength couldn't compete with Cell's, who had been elevated to a whole new level – just like his alternate self had after attempting suicide. Yes, Cell _clearly_ outclassed him to a frightening level, but what about Majin Buu?

 _Majin Buu is strong, stupid and looking for a good fight. But just how gullible is he? He was more than happy to pound on me until Cell arrived, can I convince him to go after Cell?_

"Cat still got your tongue or has my glorious return rendered you speechless? You must have questions Trunks, and this is the one time I'm in a good mood to answer them."

 _Is Buu really the lesser evil here? Supreme Kai told me he was a force of pure destruction but he's more like a kid who hasn't learned discipline… Either way I'm not strong enough to destroy either of them._

"How did you survive and make it back to Earth?" Trunks asked, relaxing his form out of the fighting stance. He had a pretty good idea what half of that explanation would be, and he'd rather use the small window of time to try and recover from Buu's punches than stay on guard for a sneak attack he knew wouldn't be coming. Cell was too arrogant to pass up a speech and Buu telegraphed his attacks like nobody's business.

"Ha! I should have known you'd pick the _boring_ ones. Not what I expected, seeing how you knew _so_ much about me. But very well, I'll grant you the mercy of understanding how doomed you are before I kill you. You see-"

"HEY!"

Trunks flinched at the volume of the scream and Cell growled and turned to the side with irritation. Majin Buu had a hand on his hip and was pointing at Cell, glaring dangerously at the bio-android.

"Buu no have time to listen to bug man talk! Buu fight strong guy, you come back later, then Buu fight you!"

Cell grit his teeth and his eyes lowered with hostility before a wave of calm seemingly washed over him and he smiled at Buu.

"A couple of things. First, my name is Cell and as your superior that is how you will address me. Second, I had a score to settle with Trunks long before Babidi let you out of your prison. And lastly..."

Cell thrust his hand out with such speed that Trunks would have swore he'd left an after-image. There was a thunderous bang as a Kiai shot out, blasting Buu away into a far off cliff. Three smaller Kiais shot out of Cell's palm, smashing Buu through the cliff and bringing it down around him, burying the majin under rubble.

"I am the strongest one here." Cell stated, lowering his hand in front of him as his aura buzzed with power. Trunks looked with wide eyes at how easily Cell had gotten rid of Majin Buu, who Trunks had had to use everything he had just to make budge with his attacks.

"Now, as I was about to say, the miracle of my survival is not a miracle at all but the product of meticulous engineering by my creator. I cannot die, it is impossible! With the cells from Piccolo I can regenerate any wound, thanks to Frieza and his father I can survive any injury and my Saiyan cells increase my strength after every near death experience. I always knew this, but I didn't realise the extent of my own perfection until it was tested by our combined blasts. In the aftermath a single cell survived, but that was enough . Trunks, I cannot describe my surprise at seeing my perfect body intact – or the elation at finding my power risen to a whole new level!"

Trunks narrowed his glare.

"I heard about this speech from Gohan but in person it's way more obnoxious."

Cell merely smiled. "Ah yes, my copy. I suppose he was close enough to my perfection to fool an outside observer, but I know I have something that knock-off didn't. The true reason for my survival… and the revelation behind how I'm standing before you now."

Okay, now _that_ intrigued him. Before he could ask or Cell could go on, they became aware of the ground trembling beneath their feet and smaller boulders slowly levitating through the air.

 _ **BOOOOOW**_

Red light filtered through cracks opening over the terrain, and a clear beam of light shot up into the sky surrounded by rings of light. The whine in the air rose in pitch to inaudible and an explosive flash tore apart the desert, leaving a crater with splintered edges behind. Majin Buu was hanging there, furiously venting steam.

To Trunks there was a flash that reminded him of lightning, then Buu was behind Cell. A crash of thunder came next, though whether it was from the speed of Buu's movement or the impact of the punch Cell had caught behind his head without turning around.

In a flowing motion Cell swung his arm forward, swinging Buu with it and directly into the path of his fist, which pancaked his face in one blow. A knee to the gut shot the pink flesh there up, just in time for Cell's elbow to hammer it down and bring Buu to the ground. Cell pulled back his leg, streaks of lightning curling around it, then punted Buu into the air. As the rotund djinn sailed up the android's hand shot out and fired a blast into the sky that caught Majin Buu in the chest. The detonation briefly outshone the sun and opened a clear hole in his body that stayed open as he was launched higher up.

"As I was saying, I discovered after my recovery that I had retained knowledge of how Kibito's Instantaneous Movement technique worked. I used that technique to come here, after I destroyed New Namek. I have no use for the Dragon Balls, and now they can never be used against me."

It was like he had lost the small amount of hope he didn't know he had left. In the blink of an eye he saw Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, his father, everyone who had lost their lives to the androids dissolve into ashes. There was no way to bring them back now, they were gone for good. He had wanted to bring some of the light he'd witnessed in the past into his own world… even if it had seemed like a lost cause until he'd seen the Namekian Dragon Balls for himself.

 _It's… it's fine. I lived my life knowing that there weren't any magic fixes to my problems, nothing has changed._ Trunks felt a cold ball settle in his chest. _I have to fight harder than ever, to avenge everyone this monster has killed!_

"Not that those trinkets could affect me, but I really wanted to make sure I'd taken everything from you before you died." Cell said, his conversational tone turning sinister. "The Dragon Balls were your last hope to get back what you'd lost to the androids… and me."

Trunks' brow shifted. "What?"

"I'm not talking about your chance at a wish to set right a world you barely knew, or the lives of the Namekians you care so much about, or the pale excuses for gods that helped you. No, I took something _far_ more valuable from you Trunks. _Hope_ was written on the side of your time machine and that's **exactly** what you've lost."

His pulse raced. The ice in his chest thickened.

"How do you know that?" It came out as a growl, but to his own ears it lacked threat. The words had come out as a forceful whisper, yet Cell had heard him. The genetic hybrid's face was almost glowing with malicious anticipation as he gathered his words.

"I made a detour to the world of the Kaioshin after I destroyed New Namek. I went there to see if one of the Kais had fled there, but who I found was _much_ more important."

 _ **He can't possibly mean...**_

"I'm afraid Bulma has been dead for the better part of an hour by now. I wish I'd left a body for you, but I wanted the destruction of Kaioshinkai to be thorough."

Trunks felt himself slip into a state of total calm, like falling under ice cold waters. He was grateful for that, it let the stalling engine of his mind feel something other than crushing despair at what he'd just heard. It helped him deal with it in the fractions of a second he had before he had to show some kind of response.

It actually surprised him when the thin bubble of serenity he'd felt popped and more fury than he'd ever thought possible exploded out of it.

 **-Majin Buu-**

Buu liked to keep to himself that he was a lot smarter than he looked. Or at least when he had to be. He hadn't needed to be when the man with spiky blonde hair had been playing with him, but after the bug man had shrugged off his attacks Buu had considered thinking hard.

So he'd been listening. His return hadn't been noticed and after being hit hard enough to feel it for a change Buu was in no rush to interrupt. Yet. And to his great surprise he'd actually learned something useful.

' _excuses for gods...'_

' _Kaioshin...'_

' _Kaioshinkai...'_

Those words jogged Majin Buu's somewhat foggy memory. He couldn't tell if the fog came from waiting in the cocoon for so long or something else, but it had been parted a sliver by Cell's words.

Buu saw himself standing next to Babidi? No wait, it was Bibidi, his maker. The small shrivelled magician was staring up at him in shock, mouthing something that only came back to Buu in the afterthought, ' _Buu? Is that really you?'_

Going back a little more Buu experienced himself as taller, obscenely muscular and baring down on a fat man with pointy ears and a younger looking partner behind him. Then Buu felt something hold him in place, before he was cut into multiple small cubes. It hurt in a way that Buu had only known once before, and it reminded Buu of what he had done the last time…

The memory was a lot less clear, he was barely aware of even being himself. But at that moment he was focused on the well built opponent charging an attack in front of him. Buu was laughing, none of the other attacks he'd faced had even slightly injured him, not really. But then when it fired, something about it _changed_ and for the first time in his existence Buu panicked _._ He was scared, and he acted on instinct to end the threat without knowing what it was, even as his body was torn apart and he felt such incredible _pain_ that he would have screamed if he had a mouth.

Majin Buu, standing up against a low rock wall contemplatively, recalled all that, recalled how different things had gone trying to fight Cell than anyone else in his life, and felt like he'd found an answer.

"Buu gonna get you good now." He whispered, a sly grin on his face as he peeked around the corner to see his enemies now that the talking had stopped.

It looked like he'd picked the wrong moment to stop bracing himself. Trunks' golden aura flashed with lightning, looking no different than it had while he'd been fighting Buu, before the ground around him gave way to golden light.

" **RUUUAAAGH!"**

The dome of blazing light that manifested around Trunks at that moment blasted the wall Buu had been hiding behind into dust, and bowled Buu over until he managed to dig his feet in. He held his arm in front of his face to protect against the worst of the energy waves. The dome that had risen around Trunks had shrunk to a smaller globe surrounding him, and while it strained his eyes Buu could see through it.

Trunks' eyes were blank slates, with lines of tears running down his cheeks. His hair stood up in a wilder pattern than Buu recognised, and it seemed to extend further down his back. It was hard to tell with how hard the Earth was shaking, but it almost looked like it was growing longer as Buu watched.

Thick yellow lightning shot from Trunks' aura as his energy made a final climb, secondary sparks splashing against Buu's cape, then the ground stopped shaking, clouds dispersed and the blinding waves of light died away.

Buu might have been looking at a whole new person. Trunks' hair was now a golden waterfall down his back, sparking with golden bolts of its own. His brow stood out with no eyebrows, and from the front Buu could see two rigid strands of hair hanging over his forehead. That was all fairly strange to Buu, but what really made the picture was the look Trunks was giving Cell. It sent a shiver down Buu's spine, and he was only seeing it from the side.

"Wow, he looks super scary."

Buu's comment went unheard, of course, as Trunks kept his tear-stained turquoise orbs trained on Cell's magenta ones. Cell had been forced back by the transformation as well, and looked stunned at Trunks' changed appearance.

"You're going to regret ever coming back." Trunks said. The intensity of his aura magnifying the threat in his voice as he took a step forward.

"So what am I looking at? Double Ascended Saiyan? Super Saiyan 3? I'll admit, it looks intimidating."

Trunks warped in front of Cell, leaving speed lines that Buu could barely track. Trunks fist flew like an arrow at Cell's face, just to be caught the same way Buu remembered his being. Cell smirked, Trunks' grim visage didn't change.

"But looks can be deceiving."

Trunks exited Cell's grasp in a golden burst, swinging a punch at Cell that met his arm, producing a sonic blast. Cell's leg flashed upward and was blocked by Trunks' knee, sending a wave through the Saiyan's body.

Then the two disappeared with such speed that Buu lost them. His head rotated around like an owl trying to find them, even as the sky above him was shaken by the impact of their battle. As it went on Buu started seeing more of them, snippets from the clash frozen in time.

Cell behind Trunks with his boot slammed into his back.

Trunks soaring up at Cell with his knee piercing his gut.

Cell and Trunks throwing punches at each other, both missing.

Trunks ramming his fist into Cell's cheek, right before Cell grabbed Trunks by the arm and twisted it back.

Buu saw more of it the longer he looked. It was like he was learning what to look for the longer he kept at it.

It was fun to watch, but Buu didn't like being on the sidelines.

While still keeping his eyes on the fight, Buu reached for the knot that kept his cape tied around his neck and ripped it open. The purple fabric fluttered in his hand before going rigid then compacting into a ball of pink goo.

"Eenie meenie minie -"

Trunks was attacking Cell with especially ferocious punches, arms firing so fast that they were invisible to Buu. Yet Cell had his arms crossed and was blocking each one of Trunks' fists with the appropriate leg. Buu couldn't hear it, but it looked like Cell was taunting Trunks as he did so.

"Moe!"

He pitched his arm back, charged up his ki then threw the pink glob at Cell with as much force as he could.

 **-Cell-**

He was vanishing out of the way of each of Trunks' attacks, leaving the Saiyan with no idea of where he'd appear next as he did so. The effect was close to if he'd decided to use Instantaneous Movement to dodge them, but it was all pure speed. And he was being generous in allowing Trunks to see him for long enough to aim punches, if he'd really wanted it he'd have been all but invisible to him.

"I feel so thrilled fighting you like this," he said, blinking out of the path of a double axe-handle Trunks had tried to hit him with. "I was so helpless when we fought before, and now even with a new form you are still my inferior. It's like everything is right as it should be!"

"Did you feel good when you killed my mother?" Trunks said, tone hard as ever but Cell could see he was trying to catch his breath. Odd. Their fight hadn't been that intense yet. "You tried to hurt me by going after someone I cared about. That's the move of a _coward,_ of someone too _weak_ to face me head on. And looking at you now, you seem pretty strong. I guess being weak is just in your nature."

Trunks' face screwed up as even more rage welled up in him, "It's sick, but if you had gone after my mom while you were still weaker than me, I'd understand. It'd be the only way you could hurt me. But your punches hurt and I'm having trouble keeping up with you as a Super Saiyan 3, so you knew I had no chance before."

 _Looks like the name stuck._

"You had a choice. You could have come to fight me, prove yourself my superior like a warrior, or you could kill a defenceless woman, like that would hurt your real target."

Trunks pulled his hand back, and yellow lightning gathered between his fingers as a ki ball ignited in his palm.

"Thanks to you I can't bring her back, or anyone else I care about. But I don't have anything to lose now." Trunks said, finishing in a quiet manner as the yellow blast flared up in his hand, waves of golden electricity running off from it and down his arm. "You said you wanted to take everything from me Cell, well you can have _**this**_!"

He'd have to be an idiot to miss what that meant.

"Field open!"

A green sphere covered with crackling sparks enveloped Cell as he threw his arms and legs out. Trunks pulled his arm further back, gritting his teeth as he throttled his ki back.

The attack came from an angle he hadn't expected red bolts struck his shield, making him whip his head to the side in shock. That proved to be a mistake as Trunks disappeared, and the further collision of red projectiles stopped him from tracking him down.

"Why don't you wait your turn!" Cell yelled, drawing his hands to his side and filling them with blue ki. "Kamehameha!"

His shield dropped and the destructive blue wave thundered out, scattering the dozens of red bolts that had been in its path into loose particles. Cell didn't see Buu get hit by the blast, but the massive smoke cloud that the blast threw up and the fact that there had been no resistance made him feel positive that the majin had been as easy to deal with as he expected.

 _Now just to finish with Trunks. Honestly the nerve on him, daring to call **me** a coward!_

A large ki appeared above him, and Cell reacted instantly, powering up and channelling energy to his hand. A ball of golden energy struck his fist but it was easily punched apart. Cell looked in the direction it had come from for any sign of the Super Saiyan who had sent it but there was none.

He sensed two more energy signatures below him and to the right, and he swiped apart the blast that had come from below with a kick. The blast that came from the side he caught, then pushed back the way it came. A quick search in both directions didn't locate Trunks.

"Damn it! Where did he go?"

 **BAM!**

Two boots landed on the back of Cell's skull, dropping him downward. It didn't take long to catch himself, but in the time he needed to face Trunks the half-Saiyan had aimed two fully charged blasts down at him.

"FINAL FINISH BUSTER!"

It looked serious, it felt serious, it _was_ serious. Cell could have defended himself, but at that moment it was easier to teleport out of the way. He dropped out of space behind Trunks, hand splayed out to fire a blast of his own. Trunks' neck twisted, and his eyes widened in with dismay at seeing his foe at his back… while the blast that had enough power to shatter Earth like an eggshell continued unopposed.

If he'd been looking he'd have seen the pink orb go sailing past where Cell had been a second ago, which Cell regarded with an irritated twitch, and strike him on the upper arm. In two seconds the blob expanded along Trunks' body, wrapping itself around him before he could so much as cry out.

Cell saw a few struggles take place inside the pink mass before it pulled itself into a humanoid shape. A white glow consumed its outline, and when it faded Cell was staring at a very different Majin Buu.

The physique was entirely different. Toned body, muscular arms and legs, solid jaw, an actual nose and eyes, and normal hands with five fingers each. The clothing on Buu's lower body was the same, yellow boots and white pants with a black belt that had a yellow buckle with the Majin symbol on it. But above that, he was wearing a version of Trunks' black shirt and Capsule Corporation jacket that hadn't been damaged in battle. As Buu craned his neck to the side Cell got a look at his head tentacle, which now hung down to the middle of Buu's back.

"My head is so clear now!" Buu exclaimed, staring at his hands in amazement. "I feel like an all new Majin Buu!"

Cell's mouth had fallen open in confusion but he closed it in time to save Buu from seeing it. "Did you _absorb_ him?"

"Yep! I was aiming for you, but I think Trunks'll do fine." Buu said, smiling before he snapped to attention and pointed his hand at the ground. "Almost forgot about that."

The Final Finish Buster, which had weakened slightly without Trunks fuelling it, paused then curved upward. It barely glanced the land, carving the top off of a mountain as it arced into the sky.

"I can't let anything happen to this planet, not until I figure out if I like it or not. Trunks does, but he doesn't remember any candy stores or bakeries and I won't live on a planet that doesn't have those."

Now Cell couldn't hide how confused he was. "Somehow you sound even more stupid now than when you couldn't form full sentences. Are you the same Majin Buu who murdered the Kaioshin, the one with an insatiable appetite for destruction, or did Babidi get the cheap imitation?"

"No, that was all me." Buu beamed with pride, "A lot happened between now and then, and I'm still processing a lot of it. And a lot of what Trunks knew as well. But I am sure of one thing."

The smile slipped off of Buu's face like it had never even been there, and he fixed Cell with a glare as serious as he'd ever gotten from Trunks.

"I am going to kill you."

* * *

 _Author's Note_

 _See, there exists a future where I did update in early July like I promised. I got 80% of the way there but then my life took a huge blow. Now classes have started and I still haven't gotten my normal life back. So next update has a bold ? next to it. I will finish this fanfic but it may end up even shorter than I anticipated. Which is shocking, since with Trunks absorbed we're officially in the end game._

 _Yes, I always knew I couldn't just kill off Trunks, but leaving him in to job wouldn't be fair. Having him be absorbed occurred to me too late to call myself smart for it, but I am proud. Him going SS3 wasn't strictly necessary but it is the one last cool thing I could give him without changing my plans. SS3 is even more useless than SS God._

 _Oh, and seeing how Broly is making a comeback in DBS I feel better for taking his part out of the story. It would've been cool, but I wasted way too much time trying to make his part not seem bloated. But he'll have his chance in my other fanfics…_

 _And if I do decide to end this story prematurely I'll at least post a final synopsis. I had too many dead fics in my favourites list to overlook that courtesy._

 _(A crown to the one who gets the title reference)_


	12. The Strongest in the Universe

**Chapter 12: The Strongest in the Universe**

 **-Majin Buu-**

When he had absorbed Trunks, he had received all of the teen's power and experience but there were _complications_ he hadn't planned for. For one thing, he was growing frustrated and impatient the longer his fight with Cell went on. He wanted to have fun, it wasn't like he'd find anyone as strong as Cell for a few years at least, if ever. But Trunks really, really, _really_ wanted Cell dead. And the Saiyan's own memories of his repeated fights with Cell were ruining Buu's turn, since it had an annoying tint of familiarity to it. Sure, it meant he didn't have to spend any time learning how Cell fought but it wasn't like he could enjoy the experience either. And if the android could tell how bored Buu was feeling on the inside, he wasn't revealing it. No, Cell had the self-assured smirk Buu was used to seeing on him as he dodged past his punches and landed his own. Maybe he thought this was easy? It was certainly like him to be blinded by his own ego. It was deliberate on Buu's part that he was copying Trunks' fighting style exactly with no variation whatsoever. He wasn't even using his natural abilities to mix things up. No, he wasn't even going past 50%. Why? Well for one Buu wanted to lull Cell into a false sense of security before he turned things _way_ up, and for another, there was the second snag absorbing Trunks had introduced.

He had to be careful not to damage the planet. That didn't just mean holding back, it meant making sure Cell kept to a level where he wouldn't accidentally blow it up. Trunks had added more energy attacks into his repertoire in order to cause more damage to Cell, but it wasn't really his style. He wasn't _Vegeta_. Trunks preferred melee attacks to set up his opponents for a single devastating ki attack, and taking that same approach meant Buu didn't have to worry about shielding Earth from one of Cell's blasts.

"You haven't said anything since that _threat_ of yours!" Cell declared. The green hybrid had just moved his head to the left and dodged Buu's right fist, and was now balling up his left hand to retaliate. Buu moved his left arm with lightning speed, blocking the punch with his elbow and absorbing the force with a grunt of effort. One of many sonic booms exploded out from the impact as the two of them swiftly broke off and threw punches that met each other halfway to their targets, causing small winces of pain due to the immense force both of them were dishing out. Cell caught both of Buu's hands by the wrists, forcing them down and to the side as he drew himself closer, another set of arms bursting from his back.

 _That's the move he used with the Tri-Beam!_

"HYAAAA!"

Cell's arms become blurs cloaked in golden light as they rocketed up into Buu's jaw, striking hard enough to deform the putty it was made of. Cell let go of Buu's hands and put all four arms to use hammering Buu's dazed form with blows, the Capsule Corp jacket and black undershirt he wore quickly tearing beneath the assault. As Buu was knocked helplessly from side to side Cell's super perfect aura increased in intensity until his every movement became invisible. The perfect android was content to keep beating on Buu for as long as possible, the malicious smirk not leaving his face as he rained blows onto the slowly deforming majin.

It all came to an end when Buu's antenna, rimmed with buzzing yellow light, whipped around like a propeller and chopped all four of Cell's arms off at the elbows.

"Wh-what?"

Buu's brutalising form trembled, still shaking from the effects of Cell's intense assault as the android looked at his purple and green stumps in horror. A new sound became audible, different from Buu's pained moans.

Laughter.

Like magic Buu's clothes grew back just as they had been before and the majin brought himself upright, openly aughing at Cell's dumbfounded – and now angered- expression.

"That was good! If you have a few more tricks like that then this is going to be a fun night!"

Cell lowered his stumps, the bottom half disappearing just as the top half regenerated. The persistent smirk had left the android's pale face, he looked annoyed.

"You think it's going to take me that long to kill you?" Cell said, voice low.

Buu took it in stride, smiling warmly and pointing his thumb at himself. "Nah, it's how long I've got before my sweet tooth acts up. When I get hungry I get really irritable, you wouldn't want to see that."

"You shouldn't worry about your appetite when you're facing death." Cell retorted.

"Ha! You shouldn't be so full of yourself! I know we're both holding back, but wouldn't it be funny if one of us were holding back more than the _other?_ "

The implication was obvious, and the flare up in Cell's eyes made it clear he'd heard it. Immediately a harsh golden glow arose from Cell's green armour, soon filling with thick arcs of electricity. The full Super Saiyan-esque aura roared to life around Cell as he threw his fists down, and drew in a deep breath.

"There, 100%. What do you think?"

"Bullshit."

" _What?"_

Buu crossed his arms and raised a non-existent eyebrow. "You heard me, you're lying. You pushed things up a little, but that's not your full power. I dont know _why_ you want to pretend like it is, but I'm not going to. In fact, I'm going to go all out in the next round. And if you think _that_ is enough to fight me, good luck!"

 _And unlike you Cell, I have no reason to bluff._

Also unlike Cell, he didn't have to make a big show of powering up. There was a red shimmer around him as he loosed his arms and stretched them out, linking his fingers together and cracking them. He knew Cell could sense the difference in power that now existed between them, he was looking nervous again. Lightning, golden crescents and a high pitched whine built up around Cell as he hurriedly powered up. But it wasn't _enough_ , not fast enough.

Now, he could have been polite and given him a few more minutes to charge up. But that would give him the wrong idea of what Buu meant by serious.

Cell had just inhaled in preparation for a powerful yell when Buu blinked in front of him and grabbed him by the face, taking the android's entire skull in his hand. Cell let out a scream as Buu's fingers dug into his skull, as the djinn plummeted down to Earth with a mighty roar. Their two auras clashed and blended together into a roiling miasma of gold and red, a mixture that ceased a scant few meters from the ground as Buu slammed his hand down, smashing Cell through the solid earth like it was cardboard. Buu's arm continued to push Cell deeper into the ground, growing thinner and thinner as it did so.

He crouched on the shattered rocks beneath him, not bothered by the rough feeling at all. He couldn't see what was happening with Cell, but he could feel the android putting up one hell of a struggle to loosen his grip. He _was_ trying to give the bug a magma bath, so he wasn't willing to make it that easy.

"Come on Cell, just phone it in for a little longer and we'll see if your Namekian genes make you flame retardant too."

A painful jolt run up his arm, like he'd tried to shove his fingers through steel. The thin wire that was his arm began vibrating due to some resistance, and on the other end he could feel an incredible heat his ki barely kept at bay. Buu grit his teeth and applied more force, trying to break through whatever the block was with sheer strength. His arm vibrated even worse, and there were little explosions of pain along the length of it that made him almost bite through his tongue. It was when the edge of the hole he was up to his elbow in started shooting out golden beams and the ground fractured around it that he realised it was too late.

The length of his arm coiled back to normal, steaming red and Buu cradled it with the other. He didn't have time to nurse it as the ground he'd been standing on exploded, and in the split-second before he could levitate himself a fist cloaked in golden energy broke through his skull. Buu's headless body shot backward with zero resistance, sonic booms following in its wake as the full force of Cell's blow propelled it through the sky. The shattered desert landscape quickly gave way to scattered trees, then fully fledged forests that had a destructive wake carved through them. Buu's head reformed when he was passing over a lake, but before he could counter his momentum Cell teleported behind him and kicked him straight up and out of the atmosphere. At the summit of his flight, past the point where the curve of the Earth was visible and the starry backdrop around it, Cell appeared ahead of him with both hands joined over his head. Buu's mouth opened in a soundless scream just before Cell's blow crushed his head into his chest and sent him rocketing back the way he'd come. The serene lake and the dense woodland around it were destroyed in an instant when Buu struck land.

Cell dropped through the atmosphere like a falling star as well, but unlike Majin Buu he brought himself to a stop before touching the ground. The environment had been drastically changed, and the scenery didn't look too different from the wasteland they had started in. The ring of trees at the edge of the blast zone was new, but it was so distant that it might as well not have counted.

Buu didn't look up at Cell, but did smile at the android's presence.

"So, you're done thinking you're so much better than Majin Buu that you can fight me with one hand tied? Good. If there's one thing I **hate** , it's when people don't take me seriously."

Cell didn't say anything back at first, the flashing lights of aura statement enough. But he reconsidered when Buu didn't make any moves, just standing clutching the broken log.

"Yes, and you might not be glad that you did. I wasn't sure just how much my power had improved, and to see it now – it's exceeded my wildest expectations. This is what ultimate perfection looks like. If you were smart Buu, you'd be scared."

Cell punched the air in front of him – and the shockwave shook what little remained of the forest. The android pulled his fist back, grinning at it and the trails of electricity buzzing over it.

"Hehehe, I thought my destiny was complete when I'd absorbed 17 and 18. I imagined _Trunks_ was an insurmountable obstacle. But all of it, from the meddling Supreme Kai to the treacherous Babidi were stones paving my way to this level of existence. With this power, it will be trivial exterminating all life from this universe until only I, the Perfect being, am left."

Cell looked down at Majin Buu, a mad grin on his face.

"And you thought you could _fight_ me?! Such naivety! It's not too late Buu, beg for mercy and I'll allow you to assist me in purging this world."

Buu looked up at Cell. He was smiling, but not in the battle hungry way he had been before. This was different.

"That's one hell of a speech, and insults aside if you'd made that offer to me before I'd probably have taken it. But, and I can't stress this enough, I don't like you. You're a condescending fool who wants to destroy all the people who make cakes, the places that make cakes, and the cakes themselves. That just doesn't sit right with me." Buu paused and looked down at the stick in his hand. "And the wanting to kill people part too, I guess, since apparently that's wrong."

"And y'know what else? As someone who grew out of the 'wanting to kill everyone' phase, you impress me! I killed the supreme gods of creation and absorbed the ones who challenged me to make myself even greater, and just now I absorbed the first Super Saiyan 3 to ever exist! What's your greatest accomplishment, absorbing two washed up cyborgs? All you did besides that was kill a bunch of weaklings!"

"Then I suppose killing you will be my greatest triumph." Cell glowered.

"Ha! I'm going to enjoy seeing the terror in your eyes when it finally gets through your thick skull that you lost." Buu raised his left arm to the sky. "But first, I'm going to show you something incredible. Whenever I destroyed a world I took a small amount of energy of its energy with me. Not a lot, but over aeons of destruction it's become rather _breathtaking_ if I do say so myself."

The energy Buu collected bathed the area in a sunset red hue, and looking up he was satisfied to see that the sphere was of an impressive size without him really doing anything to it. To his credit, Cell's only reaction was to steel his jaw, with only an eye twitch giving away any emotion.

"That's what I thought."

He was ready to gloat more, but Cell lifted a finger up as though to interrupt. A tiny speck of light was held on the fingertip, barely any energy in it at all.

 _What's he trying? Is that supposed to be another blast? He can't form anything in time to counter my Vanishing Ball. Well it's his funeral if he still wants to play arrogant._

"Just try and dodge this!"

With that, he swung his arm forward and launched the immense violet-red orb at Cell. The way the bio-android looked as the Vanishing Ball bore down on him, he almost looked mesmerised. Heck, if Buu had to give a description he'd say he was frozen in fear-

" _HAHAHAHA!_ "

The light that had been above Cell's fingertip blossomed into a fiery orb that equalled the Vanishing Ball in size right before it struck, and with a flick of Cell's finger it crashed into the Vanishing Ball. The two orbs clashed in the air, thick waves of energy sheering off of them as they fought for dominance. Then the Vanishing Ball cracked in half and Buu stared wide-eyed at the world ending blast falling down on him.

"Oh."

Maybe it wasn't what Trunks would have wanted, but he leapt out of the way. He'd ascended hundreds of meters into the air before he turned back and noticed that the attack was tracking him, and speeding up.

' _Maybe I can try blocking? Nah, that'd be a waste of time against something this intense.'_ Buu thought, watching as his legs started burning up from the heat. ' _At least I know this can't kill me_.'

It didn't take long after that for all awareness to leave him as his body was incinerated.

He felt a _little_ relieved when he regained consciousness, and that relief was soon put aside next to the satisfaction of having taken one of Cell's best attacks head-on and coming out good as new.

 _Looks like the old cockroach still has a few tricks in store for me. Good. I was afraid this battle would be too predictable._

From what Buu knew he was standing on Earth's moon, which was a real disappointment for sightseeing aside from the unobstructed view of the planet itself. And not that he needed it, but this was a good time to examine things a little deeper. Cell might as well have been standing right next to him with how much ki he was broadcasting, so he could easily probe it.

The attack had taken a small toll on Cell's reserves, and far too little time had passed for him to recover them. Of course when Buu reappeared to continue their fight he'd fight just as fiercely, the drop in power would barely make a difference since the android was sure to find ways to compensate.

That's what Trunks was counting on, and advising him to build up the energy he needed then blast Cell with it all at once. With the Saiyan's power in addition to his own he could do it... But that wasn't _his_ plan. And he knew if it came down to a beam clash Cell had more ways out than he did. No, there was a better way than that. The fact that he was standing safely on the lunar surface while Cell was tense awaiting his return was a hint at how different things were from Trunks' experience.

His blast off was done in silence, and as soon as he felt the heat of friction burn against his aura he also felt Cell's ki rise to attention. The air around him exploded with bolts of crackling yellow energy, bolts that he dodged as he made a red blur streaking down towards Cell.

Both of his fists aimed downward collided with Cell's cross-shaped guard, staggering them both. In what seemed like slow motion as the two of them glared hatefully into the other's eyes a wave of force lifted up the ground, forming a bubble of negative pressure over the area before bursting and smashing the earth down like an anvil.

"That should have killed you." Cell growled, tone heavy with anger. Buu could sense the hybrid's uncertainty spike for that second, even as spread out as it was over the separate components of his ki. It dipped back into the freezing ocean of arrogance that Cell projected, but Buu took it as a good sign. It meant that he would understand his defeat when the time came.

"What makes you think that? Maybe you'd have died, but it's not that easy to get rid of me."

 _SSHHHHFRAAAAAM!_

That was the sound of Cell dashing forward with a strike aimed at Buu's head, which the djinn dodged by shifting his entire body to the right. In the next second Cell's left fist propelled itself into Buu's face, flattening it into his skull and causing Buu to stagger backwards. Cell then spun with a kick to Buu's right side, which bent him in half as his leg lodged itself into his side. Cell drew his hand back, channelling a small amount of ki into his palm before shooting a wave of ki at Buu.

The transformed majin was blown away like a leaf in the wind, almost entirely distorted by the blast as he soared over the barren landscape. Taking a moment to collect his energy, Cell shot after him in a blazing golden wave, catching up to Buu and laying a lightning fast volley of jabs into the playdough-like torso of Majin Buu, each one leaving a mark behind. By the time they reached the edge of the destroyed forest, Majin Buu's chest resembled the surface of the moon. Cell made a flip forward and kicked Buu into the earth, before lifting him off the ground with telekinesis and spiking him high into the air with a powerful kick.

Before he could reach escape velocity this time, Buu's form stretched out like a parachute, stopping his ascent. Buu scowled, fighting hard to keep his rage in check as he saw just how far Cell had beaten him from the start of their fight. That had been unexpected, the two of them were still roughly equal and after absorbing Trunks the gap in skill between them should have disappeared. Was he still holding back? Or was it something else?

' _Maybe I'm making it too easy for him. My plan won't work if he can just ragdoll me around all he likes. Yes, I've been thinking too much like Trunks, I won't let myself be humiliated for any reason!'_

A sharp spike of energy pinged Buu's attention, and he refocused to Cell. The so-called perfect being had his hands cupped at his side, a tiny flicker of blue visible between them.

"Really, that's what you were going to use to finish me off! Come on Cell, try something original! Just because Trunks already saw all your moves doesn't mean _I_ can't act surprised!"

There was no response, just a surge of blue-white light from the ground as Cell charged the attack even further.

"Oh, so you really want to do this huh? Fine! Here's a blast from the past!"

Buu brought both arms forward, joining them together like a cannon with both hands aimed straight at Cell. Flecks of gold and red appeared around Buu as he cocked his arms back slightly, curling his fingers inward like claws as he corrected the technique.

"KAME-"

It was far rougher than the gentle build up of force happening in Cell's hands. A blue orb condensed in Buu's hands out of nothing, while similarly coloured lights began to spiral out from it in a sweeping motion.

"-HAME-"

"Impossible!" He heard Cell cry out, before the blast the android was preparing started gathering power at ten times the speed it had been before. With the gift of sensing ki he'd taken from Trunks, he could feel how erratic the build up was, and how shocked he was. This wasn't the placid reaction he'd had to the Vanishing Ball, this was real!

"I'm a fast learner Cell! You use Goku's move so much you'd have to be an idiot _not_ to pick up how it works!" Buu shouted, laughing over the apocalyptic winds howling around them. With the two of them massing so much ki, the entire planet was shaking with a force it had never before experienced, some of the matter drawn up by their energy actually managing to reach as high as Buu in the air. He knew he ought to have cared, but at the moment his mind was fixated on the fight. "I'll make sure a Kamehameha wave is what kills you in two worlds!"

"AND UNLIKE GOHAN I HAVE BOTH ARMS! NOW TAKE THIS!"

He braced himself, throttling back the ki in his arms as much as he could in those last moments, letting the pressure build up more and more until he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"-HAAAAA!"

Things seemed to go utterly silent as the behemoth of a blast thundered down, or maybe it was so loud Buu's ears were damaged before he even noticed it. The front of the wave fell bore down on Cell like a comet, the sheer power of it beyond _any_ defence _._ Victory was sure to be his, why had he even bothered considering Trunks' stupid idea? The Saiyan had been used to fighting from a position of weakness, so of course his plan would be counting on that. But Majin Buu was strong, the strongest in the whole universe! He had more than enough power to beat Cell without any fancy tricks.

Buu heard a high pitched whine build up from somewhere below his blast, which was a surprise because of the unbroken silence that had come before it. The sound fizzled out, leaving behind silence again before Buu became aware of _something_ that made his mouth fall open in shock.

 _ **KRAKA-DOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

The Kamehameha slowed down, from a speeding freight train to a mere crawl. At the other end he could feel Cell's own Kamehameha struggling to push his back, and he could sense how much the android was truly pouring into it. He ought to have been impressed, but his instincts were telling him Cell was fighting a losing battle. The few extra seconds he'd taken to charge his blast had cost him, and Buu had seized the initiative. He was on the back foot now, and with nowhere to retreat he was just going to spend all his energy fighting an attack that was already poised to swallow him whole. Even if he was doing an admirable job of delaying the end, he wasn't even delaying it for long. Buu's Super Kamehameha was still moving, and he wasn't going to run out of energy any time soon.

"Face it! You're finished! I'm sorry to destroy the planet, but it's worth it to destroy you!"

With the sheer concentration of ki in the atmosphere, he was all but blinded to what was going on besides the beam struggle. But in his Super Perfect form, Cell's energy was high enough that he could still tell broadly what was going on with it. He could even feel the desperation as Cell tried to push his Kamehameha harder. The anticipation for his kill was so strong that Buu was practically licking his lips as he felt his attack get closer to devouring Cell, while the artificial hybrid could do nothing but watch it approach inch by inch.

The air was nothing but white light with blue shades reflected over Buu from his side of the blast, the two Kamehamehas being so similar in appearance. That's why when he saw a triplicate of red spikes Buu knew something was amiss. The red light died down, but soon sparked again, and Buu was surprised when his Kamehameha slowed to a stop.

' _What is he... oh god not this again!'_

"Nice try, but without Babidi holding your hand you're only making your defeat even worse! Face your death with some dignity Cell, it will be all you have in hell!"

Cell's power dropped sharply, and his Kamehameha continued its advance. Buu grinned. There was nothing left to do but watch.

" _When you get there, I hope Babidi sees how useless you were._ " Cell's voice spoke in Buu's head, surprising him enough to look around for the source at first.

"KAIOKEN TIMES FOUR!"

That he heard loud and clear. And with the space in front of his blast turning into a sunset, he didn't need any time to put together why. Before he could fully visual what was going on his Kamehameha was backed up against his hands, which were forcing his arms to press painfully against his chest. Cell's Kamehameha, blood red, was forcing his own back so far that it was almost wrapping itself around him. Buu found himself inside a bubble of clashing red and blue light, pressed in on all sides by destructive energy.

And he would have panicked, if he hadn't sensed the massive drop in Cell's ki.

' _Come on.. I just have to hold on.. Just a little longer and I'll squash him.. like a -'_

The ki closing in on Buu unexpectedly reached a tipping point, and all points in space suddenly seemed to be exploding around him. Buu screamed in outrage as he was flayed and torn apart, hovering in the midst of the explosion like a discarded candy wrapper before he was reduced down to just stray molecules, and then even less.

 **-Cell-**

He fell onto his knees, forcing his teeth together with the force of tectonic plates as he fought not to scream. Red smoke rose off of his gnarled and twisted hands, the price for using the Kaioken without Majin magic to back him up. If it had just been that he would have been fine, but the physical damage was the least of it. The ki all through his body flowed through him like liquid fire, and the core of his stomach felt like it was eating him alive. All he could see was red as the blood vessels in his eyes burst, and with no energy to spare for regeneration his world was left in a state of burning red agony as the ravages of the Kaioken were inflicted on him.

The pain was worse than even what he remembered of dissolving in the Final Flash, and his efforts not to scream were forcing blood to run down his mouth.

However, it was all worth it. Buu was dead, gone for good, toast. The Supernova alone hadn't contained half as much power as what had just engulfed Buu, and while it may not have been what he had in mind, there was something fitting about Buu's method of execution backfiring. And of course, he might have redeemed his loss in the world Trunks spoke of as well. How one version of himself could be so _lacking_ was beyond him, but now he'd twice proven himself greater than that failure.

The damaging red ki was starting to leave his body, and as it did Cell became aware of more than just his own suffering. His power reserves had fallen greatly just fuelling his Kamehameha, and the Kaioken had cost far more than that. He'd need time to recover, and he was grateful that no Z-Fighters were left on Earth. Even though he was immeasurably stronger than any of them had been, he didn't feel like fighting until his full power was restored.

His healing factor fixed his hands, and he used them to push himself up off the ground. Looking up to the sky he could see the fine red haze his x4 Kamehameha had created, and the sun, pale next to the memory of Buu's Super Kamehameha. An unfamiliar sense of optimism stole over him and he smiled, ignoring the utterly dead landscape surrounding him. This felt like victory, and called to mind Goku's triumph over Piccolo Jr. It had been a hard fought battle, but he had **won**. If only Gero could see how great his creation would become. He may not have had the chance to kill Goku, but he had sent the Earth's last defender and an unspeakably ancient demon into the afterlife in one swoop. He had surpassed his own ideal of perfection by so much that he was proud of himself. If he had just been the sum of his parts he would have died many times over by now, but he was far more... He was Cell. And the future was looking bright.

' _But something's not right._ '

He didn't want to think it, but his sense as a warrior was demanding his attention. The smile on his face lessened into a blank look as he attempted to find the source of his unease, and then put it out of his mind. Looking up he could see the residual particles from the Kamehameha clash stretch all the way to the horizon and beyond.

' _The_ _Kamehameha_ _wave should have carried on into space with all the power behind it, Trunks' Final Flash pushed me far away from Namek before it even went off. The Kamehameha_ _detonated far too early, it didn't stay a beam for long enough. Which means it wasn't as concentrated! That's how it spread out over the whole sky! And if it was diluted that much then...'_

"Majin Buu is still alive!" Cell uttered, eyes growing wide as fear pooled in his chest. He snapped into a loose fighting stance, concentrating on all the ki he could to try and find Buu. His mind raced over every speck on the planet, then expanded to the rest of the solar system and beyond. He found nothing, but that didn't mean anything to him. Trunks had missed his regeneration before he'd concealed his ki. Buu might have reformed while he was crippled by the Kaioken and was lurking somewhere close, waiting for him to drop his guard.

"..."

Cell's golden aura lifted around him, filling with sparks as he powered up all he could. His energy hit a peak shortly, but his reserves were low compared to what they had been. Relaxing would have let him recover more, but now that he was sure Majin Buu was biding his time he couldn't afford to.

Minutes passed, and Cell growled, feeling the strain of gunning at full power with no target in sight. Still, he was not going to entertain the thought of being at less than 100% when Buu showed himself

He didn't have to wait much longer than that as a nearly invisible form sped down from the sky and stopped in front of him. Buu was looking as good as ever and wearing a proud sneer on his face, posing with both fists on his hips while he puffed out his chest.

"What took you so long? Don't tell me you're starting to slow down after being blown up so often?"

Buu gave a deep laugh and shook his head.

"No, I decided to take a trip around the globe a few times while you got back on your feet. I've gotta say, you androids really made this planet boring. No matter what direction you go it's urban wasteland, barren wasteland or forests."

"You should have finished me off when you had the chance instead of wasting your time sightseeing. I've recovered all my power, and putting yourself together so much hasn't exactly helped your strength."

Buu inclined his head sideways, giving a sly smirk. "There'll be plenty more chances, I told you I wanted to see you suffer first. Destroying your own body to beat me was good, but its too quick. You're really going to feel despair when I decide you die."

"How are you so full of yourself when I've defeated two of your strongest attacks in a row?" Cell asked, smirking back at Buu. "You're wasting energy trying to intimidate me, and it's not working. Yet you double down on that tactic like the fool you are. I know how hard you've been trying, no matter how casual you act – If you could have killed me you'd have done it by now."

"So if I fly back up there and fire another Kamehameha wave, you'll deflect it again? And when I come back, you'll do the same? The the third time, you think you'd still be up to it? What about after that huh?" Buu's voice was stone cold, the humour leaving his face as soon as he said the words to Cell. "Don't bluff like that if you can't handle the consequences."

"If you think I'm bluffing, why don't you attack me?"

Buu was taken aback, and a flicker of doubt crossed over his expression for an instant, then he gave a toothy grin and flung his arms wide open.

"Don't mind if I do!"

Yellow light flashed in Buu's hands as he brought them together over his head, Cell dashed at him and planted both boots on his chest. To his surprise Buu wasn't thrown back like he had been from similarly styled attacks, but just skidded back along the dirt. As if reading his thoughts Buu's grin widened, and the ki held in his hands peaked as the attack was readied.

"Finish Buster!"

Cell leaned back as far as he could, and the golden ball passed over his head. Buu's hands were still in the firing position when Cell sprang back up and threw a punch at his face. Buu dropped low and to the left, Cell's punch shooting into the gap beneath his antenna. Buu smirked and thrust his fist into Cell's gut, making the android gag and bend over. Buu's left hand moved back, filling with red ki that he brought forward at Cell's midsection as he drew his fist out and leapt back. The blast fit into the cavity perfectly, driving Cell back away from Buu two meters before Cell's ki forced it out, and it exploded outside his aura. Buu wasted no time to fly up then drop down onto Cell's position, with Cell stepping back at the last instant and throwing an uppercut that knocked Buu's jaw up into his mouth. Before Cell could capitalise further, and before Buu's face had reformed, the djinn's legs dropped low and swept Cell's legs out from under him. Losing his footing, Cell was left open as Buu jumped up and landed on his chest, smashing him painfully into the ground.

When Buu started to jump up Cell grabbed him by the ankle and flew up, slamming the majin into the ground as he rose up. While he ascended into the air Cell shot dozens of power balls at Buu, who shuddered with each explosion going off on his body. Cell brought both hands together, charging up a more powerful attack to strike Buu.

"Masenko!"

Buu shot from the crater like a rising devil, Cell catching a glimpse of the serious look on his face, and kicked the charged blast out of Cell's hands. Cell gasped in shock, unable to put up a defence as Buu drove his elbow into Cell's neck. The force crushed his windpipe, and while Cell tried to force it open with ki, Buu slashed his hand across Cell's throat, opening it up in a spray of purple blood. Buu spooled his arm like a coil as Cell gurgled blood, pink spectracl flames rising from the limb as it filled with ki.

"HYAAAH!"

Buu's fist shot out like a spear, penetrating Cell's sternum like tissue paper. The blow had left a gaping hole in his chest that reached to the upper level of his stomach area, and Cell looked down in horror, almost numb to the pain as he absorbed the horrifying sight of Buu's arm extending through his chest.

"And I'm not done yet."

Buu's arm reeled back as he spun around, bringing his elbow up for another strike. Ignoring the pain, Cell lifted his arm to block and had his chitinous limb slam into his face with a sickening crack. Cell's head was knocked to the side, and with one eye shut he looked to his broken arm in shock.

' _He broke through my guard like it was nothing. But how, I'm still at full power!'_

A new burst of pain ran through his body, Buu's other kick breaking his other arm like a twig. More blood shot out of his mouth as he tried to cry out, and that was a small volume compared to the amount now spilling out of his torso wound. Buu rose up over Cell and clubbed him from the air, Cell crashing with a cloud of dust that was flattened at Buu shot down next to him, smashing the back of Cell's head into paste with his dark boot.

 **-Buu-**

Watching Cell spasm like a gutted fish was a fun sight, definitely one he'd revisit whenever he needed a pick me up, but he couldn't decide if it was real or not. Cell _had_ faked how bad his injury was after Vegeta's Final Flash, and he'd jumped up like it was nothing after Goku's Instant Kamehameha... but dragging it on for this long was a bit much.

Really, he didn't want to make the mistake of underestimating Cell twice. The Kaioken had been a real shocker, without Babidi making it happen he wasn't supposed to even be able to use it so effectively. And so, he was back to trying to keep a cool head and follow Trunks' idea. He'd had to make that concession after being spread over the horizon like a thin paste.

' _I could finish him now, but I should wait till I'm completely sure he has nothing left in the tank. No point giving him another Zenkai to use against me.'_

Two minutes after Buu had carved him open like a Thanksgiving turkey, golden light rose around Cell. He watched with some fascination as a cage of lightning formed around Cell, and he stood to attention like he was about to power up, the broken mess that had been his head bursting open as a new one budded from his neck. Cell was glaring at him with the purest expression of hate Buu had ever seen.

"How dare you."

It was quiet, so quiet that Buu almost missed it. Cell's voice _oozed_ hatred, and Buu could feel the malicious intent rising from his body like a heatwave. He was surprised that his reaction to that was to have his heart beat faster with _excitement_.

"HOW DARE YOU!"

Golden waves rolled of of Cell, forcing Buu back as they grew more intense. Cell was standing in the middle of a golden storm, spiked waves of light stretching to the heavens around him.

"I WON'T LET YOU MAKE A MOCKERY OF ME!"

Cell flew at Buu with rage, fist cocked back and his pure white. The muscles of his body doubled in size as he closed the distance, which Buu almost missed because of the loud yelling. While it looked intimidating, to Buu nothing had changed.

He caught Cell's fist, and the same happened with his own when he tried punching Cell. The two found themselves in a deadlock, straining against the other and willing them to give in first. Cell was grunting and snarling like a wild animal while Buu was gritting his teeth, trying his hardest not to be pushed back while sweat built up on his brow.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Cell's entire body tripled in size, and Buu was forced to let go from the backlash of energy alone. Before he could react he felt Cell's hand close around his antenna, and then the world turned into a blur as he was lifted into the air before being dashed into the ground. With his brains being scrambled each time he hit the rock floor Buu wasn't sure how many times Cell did that, but he did know when he was released that something wasn't right.

Why else would he be staring at a trio of tiny blue Cells?

"Okay..." The stars hadn't stopped circling his head but things were starting to come into focus. "I've definitely got some brain damage."

All the little Cells were looking down at him cheekily, which was to be expected. And now that he'd gotten his senses back, he was wondering why Cell would create Cell Juniors to help him

' _Like_ _a group of weaklings is going to help you beat me_ _. Idiot.'_

All four Cells sprang into coordinated action, attacking Buu from each side. He reacted just as quickly, dashing into the sky fast enough for it to seem like teleportation, though the quadruplet of enemies were just seconds behind him. The Cell Jr at his front threw a punch and went in close for a knee strike, the two at his sides both moved in for a powerful haymaker to his face, and he could sense Cell himself behind him attacking as well. With perfect timing Buu blocked each attack, even moving his left leg inhumanly far back to block the attack coming at his back.

Buu grinned, curling up slightly as he brought more of his own power to the surface. Red crescents ran through his aura before he thrust his limbs back out, throwing the Cells back before a funnel of red energy cloaked him from sight.

 _ **THUUUUUUUUM**_

He struck all four Cells before they had time to notice him move and shifted back to his original position. It was fun to see the looks of pain break onto all their faces at once as they keeled over, then the Cell Juniors puffed into blue smoke and the original was left clutching his stomach.

"That blow... it paralysed my entire body." Cell said, shakily taking his hand off of his stomach and staring down at it, trembling even more as he witnessed how much he was shaking. "How are you causing so much damage to me, I can sense your power, we're equals!"

"This is the moment I've been waiting for." Buu said, letting out a satisfied sigh as he closed his eyes. He could see everything playing out like he'd wanted it to but this had been impossible to imagine, reality finally kicking in Cell's anthill of an ego. "Now, do I tell you or do I wait for you to figure it out? Which one would be sweeter?"

Cell appeared in front of him ready to attack, and with Buu's eyes still closed he must have thought it would work, but he found his attack passing through an after-image as the real Majin Buu appeared behind him with his hand aimed at him.

"HA!"

The Kiai blasted into Cell's back, sending tremors through his winds and flinging him off his feet. Buu quickly formed two more in his hand and shot them at Cell, both propelling the android even faster into the distance. With a burst of speed he followed just behind Cell and aimed a kick that caught him in a sonic boom and removed any chance of him stopping as he flew off.

Buu tracked Cell's ki until it came to a stop, and flew after it. He found Cell lying half-seated in a pile of rubble, and the trench carved in the asphalt where he'd made his landing. They were in one of the many cities damaged and abandoned because of the androids, and to Buu it made a good change of scenery from the wilderness. Although from the quality of the lighting it was about to be evening there, not that he had to worry about light with how bright their auras lit things up.

When Cell finally registered Buu's presence he tried to get up, and because of how pathetic he looked panting for air like a dog, Buu kicked him like he was one. The force sent the android through two buildings hard enough to bring their worn façades down in implosions of dust, ending up crashing through a car which wrapped itself around him as he skidded to a halt. Buu appeared over him again, his capsule corp jacket fluttering in the strong wind manifesting as he steadily powered up.

"You have a free shot. Take it." Buu commanded.

Cell stared up with a mix of shock and outrage, but got to his feet all the same. He drew his fist back experimentally, eyeing Buu for any sign of betrayal. But the majin remained true to his word and didn't make any defensive moves, keeping his arms hanging at his sides. Cell grinned, golden electricity humming around him as he channelled his ki.

 _WHAAAM_

Cell's knuckles implanted themselves firmly into the side of Buu's head, turning it to the side. Yet instead of smiling he frowned as he became aware of the dull pain in his hand, and how unfazed Buu was by the blow. He didn't get to contemplate it much more as Buu began to turn his head back, and as hard as he pushed on Cell felt his whole arm be forced back by Buu. In the end he had to withdraw his fist entirely, and Buu was staring at him with cold red eyes.

"My turn."

Before Cell could raise his guard Buu had smashed the side of his face hard enough to make his eye swell shut and send him halfway across the city before he'd even felt the force of the punch. This time he couldn't even bring himself to stand, and it was Buu who hefted him up.

"Figure it out yet?" Buu asked, and when Cell didn't respond he let go of him. Cell had enough awareness to drop in a crouch, with one hand placed on the ground to remain steady. "Fine, I'll tell you."

"You're running out of gas. The Vanishing Ball, Kamehameha, and the Kaioken sped it up but you were always going to exhaust yourself fighting me. If you'd been paying as much attention to me as to preening your ego, you'd notice that I haven't lost a drop of energy. Sure, regenerating is a chore to go through but it costs me nothing. And my ki restores itself almost as fast as my body, so I could throw those attacks at you without breaking a sweat. On the other hand, you rely on your ki to regenerate. Sure, there's an exception when you're near death, but so far you've just had a really bad day. So you're running low on energy, and when you run out you won't be able to regenerate at all."

Buu lowered himself to Cell's level, crouching with his elbows resting on his knees. "You can thank Trunks for that plan by the way. You ruined things by letting Babidi give you a hand, but he isn't a factor anymore is he? I'm going to beat you until you don't even have enough energy to fix a paper cut, then I'm going to blast you into smithereens."

Cell looked up to Buu's smirking face, a defiant scowl on his. He had one eye closed, having not healed yet. "I'll come back stronger and kill you for daring to destroy me. I am perfect, I cannot die."

"That's the thing Cell, you're not immortal. I am."

Buu's firey red aura flowed around him as he spoke, the dark energy sending shivers through the urban graveyard as the intensity carried through the air. Buu placed his hand on Cell's shoulder, drawing the android's lone eye to glance down at it.

"I have enough power to destroy you Cell. Sure, you might be lucky and survive and come back with a nice zenkai... if you were at 100% or even 90%, maybe 70% if you put a shield up at the last second. But as you are now, how you're feeling, do you think you'd have enough durability for even a single cell to survive one of my blasts? And if you say yes, what about when you're down to 10% and so damaged you can't even breath properly, huh?"

Buu was a little disappointed when he didn't get an answer from Cell, but he should have known the bug would be too prideful to respond to that. He stood back up and stared down at the still recovering Cell thoughtfully.

' _So, back to the question. End it now or bleed him a little more first? He looks down for, but this bastard survived a planet blowing up after taking a Super Saiyan II beating_ _and getting a person punched out of him. I can't be too careful.'_

Buu spread both arms out, golden orbs gathered in them both. The distinctive gold lightning arcing off of them should have made it clear what attack he was going to use on Cell, if he could spare the effort to look up.

' _All this fighting and stalling is making me really hungry though. If I blow him away I can make a stop for fudge cake.'_

"Final!"

Cell rolled back and to his knees, bringing his hands up in front of him in a flash. The two halves of his hands united to make a triangular shape, and Buu cursed internally as he recognised the attack.

"KIKOHO!"

The wave turned everything behind Majin Buu into ashes, and the shockwave which rolled off of Buu as he used all his ki to steel himself against the attack brought the other half of the city tumbling down. But to his astonishment, Cell kept his hands up.

"SHIN KIKOHO!"

For Buu the world became nothing but a field of blazing yellow light, and he struggled to hold his position. He felt more pressure being added to the blast, and against his will he found himself being blown backwards. It was his purple jacket caught on fire then shredded itself off his body that he knew it was time to call it quits.

"You bought five minutes Cell! Hope you enjoy them!"

Then he let go and was swept away in the light.

 **-Cell-**

He dropped down onto all fours, gasping. Some fluid was falling from him onto the ground, but he was too dizzy to tell if it was blood, saliva or even sweat. The world was swimming in and out of vision, and he found he couldn't bring himself to care about it.

Majin Buu's speech was still echoing inside his head. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew that every word had been true. He'd cost himself using the Kaioken, but even before that he could that Majin Buu had been trying to make him waste energy on ki attacks and repairing his body. He hadn't thought anything of it at the time since he'd had power to spare, but now it felt like his body was rebelling against him and he didn't know just how much he had left to give.

If – when – Buu came back, that would be the end.

He needed a plan, he needed to get back to full strength. That was the only way he could beat Buu. There were an infinite number of problems he could see with getting there right now, and it was especially irksome that Korin had died along with the senzu plants.

Pulling himself up using a broken pillar was easier than he'd thought it would be, and firing up his aura went better than expected. There were still a large number of charged sparks running through it, which gave him hope. Maybe he'd been doubting himself for no reason and the loss he was experiencing was temporary, like all the injuries Trunks had inflicted on him.

It sure didn't feel like five minutes had passed before Buu reappeared. He was missing his jacket, though it came trailing behind him like a cape as he flew in, merging with his flesh just as he came crashing in front of Cell, blasting the pavement into pebbles.

"And then you used an attack notorious for draining its user's life force. So really, you just made this even easier for me." Buu tutted, sweeping his gaze over the even more desolate city around them. "This place will make a fine cemetery. It has broken buildings in the background for a headstone, and parched lifeless soil for a grave. Now we just need a body."

Despite the pain coursing through his body, Cell smirked. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to give you a fine burial Buu."

Buu smirked as well. "You misunderstand me. This is your grave, for your funeral and your burial!"

"We'll see about that!" Cell cried, hurling himself forwards and landing a punch square on Buu's face. To his dismay the djinn didn't even flinch from the blow, his smile broadening even further. With a defiant yell Cell rose up and brought both hands striking Buu with a double aze handle on top of his skull. This also failed to get a result, and as Cell launched a side kick at Buu's neck he found it firmly in the latter's grasp.

"Your refusal to give up is your best quality, it's what I'll miss about you. It's also what makes you so annoying."

Cell gave a startled yell as he was suddenly thrown into the ground, crashing through into the sewers while Buu hovered in the air. The sudden spike of energy made Cell grimace, as he knew that was going to come next was going to be extremely painful, and there was little he could do to stop it.

"Buster Cannon!"

The incandescent blue orb shot of of Buu's hands faster than he could track, and the next thing he knew the world turned white.

When darkness returned he found himself laying on the same spot, just with vastly different surroundings. The ruined city was gone, replaced by a brown and muddy wasteland with dark clouds crowding the sky. It was raining, but he couldn't notice it. With the lower half of his body gone, he had bigger things to focus on. Buu was nowhere to be seen, and in the hope that more time had passed than he believed Cell dropped his power level as far as possible.

"Trying to hide?" He heard from behind him, with the exact smug overtone he had been dreading. "How the mighty have fallen, but that is what you do. As soon as you don't have the upper hand you resort to trickery. And you still claim to be superior to everything else."

Cell turned to see Majin Buu standing horizontally on the side of the crater he was in, holding a plate with a slice of chocolate cake on it. He took the whole thing in his hand and swallowed it in a single mouthful, letting the plate drop as he hopped down to the floor.

"I had to take a lunch break, and I knew you weren't going anywhere. Not as drained as you far." Buu raised an eyebrow. "Or maybe I'm wrong and you're doing all this to lure me into a false sense of security? Go ahead, grow new legs and stand. Show me that perfect power you love talking about and let's start a new round!"

Cell growled and gathered his ki, willing it to his legs. It took longer than it should have, long enough to note how confident Buu's gaze was, but fresh limbs did pop out of his torso.

Buu wiped the crumbs off his mouth and brought both hands up in a boxing stance as Cell got steadily to his feet, glaring at the majin through the whole effort. Buu started hopping from one leg to the other, and made jabs at the air as he did.

"Okay, Mr Perfect isn't down for the count yet! Yeah, that was all a warm-up wasn't it? You're about to show me your true power, the power you didn't use before because it would've made things too easy! No point hiding it any longer Cell, show me what you've got!"

Cell's aura ignited, paler than before, barely filled with sparks. He didn't enter any stance, just grit his teeth in frustration as Buu kept up his mockery. He refused to play into the aberrations _childish_ game!

"Oh, so you're really all out? No last minute power ups? No techniques you were saving until you were all out of options?" Buu stopped his movements, putting on a look of mock disappointment. "What a shame. Guess I'll have to kill you now."

"Actually," Cell began, drawing his right hand back, "I do have something."

With as much speed as he could muster Cell shot the golden globe out of his hand, and pulled his other hand back, it filling with purple in anticipation for his next attack.

"Imprisonment Ball!"

The attack struck Buu in the chest, and soon he was trapped inside the glowing orange sphere. Buu looked shocked as he found himself unexpectedly at Cell's mercy and unable to sense ki. The majin began gathering energy to blow apart the sphere from the inside, but Cell had other plans. The purple disc had grown to full size in one hand, and a twin joined it in the other.

"Double Kienzan!"

The two discs cut through the Imprisonment Ball, engulfing Buu in a nuclear-scale explosion as his torso was separated from the rest of his body. Within the cloud of smoke the two discs homed in on Buu, slicing him into smaller and smaller pieces until he was just rows of quivering discs.

A burst of ki from Cell blew it all away, letting him see the results of his attack for himself. He smiled in relief, but wasted no time in building up golden ki in his palms. Dozens of orbs shot out of his palms, each one trapping a piece of Majin Buu inside a tiny sphere.

Cell breathed in deeply. He'd need a little bit longer to see if his theory was correct, but if it was then he'd bought himself all the time he needed. The Imprisonment Ball cut off the ability to sense ki and restricted movement, which meant that Buu's body would be unable to reform.

The miniature Imprisonment Balls hung in the air for two minutes before Cell relaxed. He didn't need a large flow of energy to keep them functional, so all he really had to do was stay nearby while he rested.

"I win."

It was true. As soon as he was back to full power he could charge up a blast for as long as he wanted and blast the pieces of Buu with enough power to destroy ten stars if he wanted to. It wasn't like the suspended orbs were going anywhere. The terror of the universe was truly defeated, and he, the Perfect being had triumphed. Even at a massive disadvantage, all he needed was skill to-

"HEY!"

A multitude of shrill voices crying out at once reached Cell's ears, and he opened his eyes in astonishment. Each one of his Imprisonment Balls was filled with a down scaled Majin Buu, who was glaring at him from behind the golden wave covered surface of the sphere.

The Buus also seemed to react to each other, each one looking baffled at the sight of its brethren.

"Well, this isn't good but they aren't getting out." Cell muttered, smirking as he walked closer to the rows of tiny Majin Buus.

"You're going to pay for this Cell, you cheater!"

The crowd of Buus sounded indignant, and this made Cell feel even better.

"And who's going to make me? You're all trapped with no way out!"

"Shows what you know." They retorted, sticking their tongues out at him.

"I have no more time for idle chatter. Savour living while you can, because when I return I'm going to wipe you all from existence."

Cell was ready to turn and leave but when the Buus all puffed up their cheeks and turned red faced he hesitated. In almost synchronised sequence all of the Buus puffed up until they reached the boundary of their Imprisonment Ball, which exploded.

"No!"

Cell watched in horror as the landscape was blasted even more to hell by the attacks detonating, with the horrible knowledge that his plan to contain Majin Buu had failed. He had come so close!

Before the dust had settled, Majin Buu descended from the night sky clad in a cloak of red and gold light. Cell took a few trembling steps back just out of instinct as Buu touched down in front of him, a look of almost serene calm on his face.

"You had a good plan, I'll give you a 9 out of 10 for execution. Definitely would've worked if you were fighting a good copy of yourself, but how many times do I have to tell you to STOP UNDERESTIMATING MAJIN BUU!"

Cell was helpless against the winds rushing away from Buu's surging aura, and the wind vortex carried him away screaming from Majin Buu, who's look of feral rage was burned on his retinas. The next thing he knew Buu's fist was embedded in his skull and he was shooting into the ground, his body breaking its way into an underground cave system. As he fell through the air Majin Buu was suddenly in front of him, and he felt too many blows to count land on his body. By the time he hit the ground he felt like Swiss cheese, and was shaking too badly to even sit up.

"I could say I'm doing this for all the people you killed, but really you just piss me off!"

Cell's rib cage turned to confetti as Buu's boot impacted his side, launching him skyward for a few moments before he came ingloriously crashing down. He was groaning in pain, numbly trying to get up while he heard Buu's footsteps get closer.

' _There's no way I can defeat him, not like this. I have no choice, I have to run.'_

Finding a source of strength he didn't even know he had left, Cell rose up. Buu paused his march and whistled.

"Well, I have to hand it to you. You're lasting way longer than anyone I've ever killed." Buu's comment fell on deaf ears as Cell was working hard to draw up the ki he needed for his next, critical, moves.

' _The time for talk is over. But know this Buu, when the time comes I will show you why I am the ultimate fighter.'_

"Taiyoken!"

 **-Buu-**

In the pitch blackness of the caves, the Solar Flare might as well have been the sun itself. Buu was forced to clutch at his eyes at the sudden burst of light, but in practically no time at all he had recovered. Another advantage of being able to regenerate.

His ability to sense ki properly had come back along with his eyesight, and it was far more useful in tracking down Cell. He could feel the trail the bug had left behind, and following it back to its source was going to be the easiest thing in the world with how much he wanted to tear Cell to pieces with his bare hands.

"Come out Cell, I know you're there!" He yelled, racing along the dark path Cell had taken. The android was supposed to be good at hiding his ki, but Buu was following it like a bloodhound. Even when he had to pause because Cell had used to wings to get to places he shouldn't have been able to on foot, he still caught up. He was right on Cell's heels, the only reason he hadn't blown up the whole subterranean level was because he didn't want to chance Cell digging in like a true insect.

"I can sense you, I can _taste_ your fear!" He chortled, hoisting himself up over a cliff wall. "Come out and face your death like a man!"

There was a glint of light, and Buu was there instantly. Cell was frozen in time, about to leap up through a column leading to the surface. But the moonlight had betrayed him, and Buu had all the time in the world to watch the horror spread over his features.

"Found you."

"Buu, wait, I-"

"Shut up!"

Buu's knee plowed into Cell's gut, forcing his neck words into a gasping wheeze as he folded onto his leg.

"I know how long it took you to run out of power, I've seen the look in your eyes when you lost, and now it's time to answer my last question: What kind of candy are you?"

Cell's magenta orbs widened into saucers and he started to yell something as Buu's antenna jerked forward, firing a pink ray that enveloped him instantaneously.

 _POOF_

A brick sized chocolate shaped like Cell fell to the cave floor, and Buu bent down to pick it up. With his aura providing light now he could see that the brown chocolate was flecked with green spots.

"Ah, mint chocolate flavour, I should have known."

Buu took it with both hands and shut his eyes in glee. It was all over. He'd beaten Cell, he was about to eat Cell! Now he was free to do whatever he wanted and no-one would be able to stop him! It was a shame there weren't other strong guys like Cell around, but if he got bored he could always go looking for some. It was a big universe, and he had all the time in the world.

All that was left was to take a bite out of his 'perfect' victory chocolate and he could go have a nap.

 _CRUNCH_

As soon as Buu's teeth had bitten into the chocolate it disappeared, and his own teeth banged painfully together. He rubbed his mouth in confusion, looking at his hand to see if maybe if it crumbled or fallen to the floor for some reason. But there was no trace of the Cell chocolate.

"Well that's weird...Maybe it was a flake chocolate?" Buu said, still scanning over the area in puzzlement. Then with a shrug he blasted out of the cave and into the sky before soaring towards the day side of the planet.

Buu was going to build a house to take a nap in, and he couldn't think of a better place than the Capsule Corp building.

 **-Cell, Cooler Planet 701 (formerly Planet Yardrat)-**

Everything felt like it was on fire even before he emerged from hyperspace, and as soon as he did he fell on top of a table two aliens wearing Planet Trade armour had been using to play a card game. He was dimly aware of their reactions, but since he felt like all his vital functions were shutting down, he didn't have time for their questions.

"P-Please, help me."

The darkness that came up to greet him was oddly comforting.

* * *

 _AN: I've listened to the Super Buu, Buunemba, Imperfect Cell and Semi-Perfect Cell themes virtually nonstop all day to write this. Wow my work ethic picks weird and surprising ways to show itself. Oh, and for the first time ever I went back and read over my old chapters. Two and three are totally different from the ones I have on my hard drive!_

 _Guests:_

 _Luke: Thank you! You may to wait a while for the next update, exam season is right around the corner._

 _CK: That's the nicest thing I've ever review ever!_

 _Guest: Fear not, one day I will write a story without a villain protagonist and Cell will get his just desserts!_

 _Cell: I mean, hero is a four letter word you don't want to apply to Cell. Why would I tone anything down? OG DBZ was violent, and that's why people loved it._


End file.
